Nymphs, dryads and demi-gods are part of everyday discourse in Arcadia. The mythical domain of Pan – the goat-legged god of forests and flocks, shepherds and spontaneous revelry – the region has been romanticised by everyone from Virgil to Goethe, Poussin and even Demis Roussos. Through the ages, the Arcadian ideal has come to represent a pastoral paradise unspoilt by human civilisation. Unlike so many mythical Greek locales (see: Thebes, Sparta, Eleusis) that are virtually impossible to reconcile with their modern incarnations, Arcadia still feels like a place where man lives simply, in harmony with nature.
Now, there’s a new hotel in this sylvan wilderness that feels both timeless and contemporary.
Manna Arcadia is as unexpected and gratifying as its name suggests.