Larisa Tourist Attractions
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Lárisa, chief town of Thessaly and an agricultural market town, lies at a bend in the river Piniós (Peneios) in the Thessalian plain, to the south of Mt Olympus.
Lárisa Archeological Museum
In a square in the center of the town of Lárisa, housed in a former mosque, is the Archeological Museum, with material ranging in date from the Palaeolithic (implements from the Piniós valley) through the Mesolithic (Magoula of Gremmos) and Neolithic to the classical and Christian periods. The classical material includes funerary stelae, while Early Christian art is represented by sculpture and altar screens.
Larisa Art Gallery
The Larisa Art Gallery contains an admirable collection of fine paintings.
Surroundings
Ayia
Ayía (39km/24mi east; alt. 200m/655ft) is a good base from which to climb Mt Ossa (1,978m/6,490ft). Round Lárisa are a number of magoulas (settlement mounds), among them the Magoula of Gremmos (11km/7mi northwest), which was occupied from the Neolithic period into Roman Imperial times.At the village of Gonni Greek archeologists have brought to light the remains of a sanctuary of Asklepios of the fourth century B.C.
Tempe Valley
This historically important valley is now occupied by a modern road and is the main route between central Greece and the north. There are a number of scenic spots along the way.
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Mt Olympus
Mt Olympus, reaching 2,917 m, is the highest and most famous mountain in the country. A shrine of Zeus and another of Apollo have been found and excavated at various elevations.
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Farsala
The Thessalian town of Fársala, on a site which has been continuously occupied since Neolithic times, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1954 and thereafter rebuilt in modern style.The only evidence of its long past is an ancient tomb on the western outskirts of the town, a circular structure surrounded by large slabs of stone.Fársala is notable mainly as the scene of the battle of Pharsalos in the summer of 48 B.C., in which Caesar defeated Pompey. This was the first of three battles fought in Greece in the first century B.C. which had decisive effects on the history of Rome; the others were Philippi in 42 B.C. and Aktion (Actium) in 31 B.C. (see Nikópolis). From the hill (348m/1,142ft) above the town there is a view of the battlefield in the Enipefs valley to the north.Station on the Athens-Salonica railroad line (13km/8mi west).
Mt Ossa
Separated from Mt Olympus by the Vale of Tempe rises Mt Ossa (1,978m/6,490ft), part of the range which cuts Thessaly off from the sea. There is a mountain hut on the summit. The best starting-points for the ascent of Ossa are the mountain villages of Ambelákia, above the west end of the Vale of Tempe (on the northwest side of the hill) and Ayiá (on the southeast side).
