The plain of Archangelos, called Ethonas, is among the most fertile of Rhodes and the village, with a population of 5,500 inhabitants, is the second largest on the island, following Ialyssos (Trianta). The tallest building of Archangelos village is the bell tower of the church of the Taxiarchis (the Archangels Michael and Gabriel), built in the 19th century. Remarkable 14th-century religious paintings can be seen in the church of Agios Ioannis o Prodromos (Saint John the Baptist). In the folklore museum ceramics, woven cloths, embroideries and other creations of traditional home-based folk art are exhibited.
The Archaggelos village has a tradition in ceramics. It is even said that this was the place from where the Byzantine emperor Justinian was supplied with the light porous white bricks (called vissala) he used in the construction of the dome of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
The later ceramists of Archangelos village specialized in the “atzia”, namely the clay pots. Today only two ceramic workshops remain open.
The musicians of Archangelos are considered the best on the island. You can find this out yourselves, if you visit the village when one of its feasts is celebrated: the feast of Archangel Michael on the 8th November, the one of Agia Marina (Saint Marina) on 17th July and that of Panagia Alemonitra (Our Lady the Merciful) on 23rd August.
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On the hill above the village overhangs the castle of Achangelos, built in the 15th century by the Masters Jacques de Milly and Pierre Ramon Zacosta. Inside the castle the “little monastery” of Archangel Michael is found.
