Arcadia in California, the Chinese Beverly Hills

14 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  7 minutes

Santa Anita Park © flickr.com - Rennett Stowe/cc-by-2.0

Santa Anita Park © flickr.com – Rennett Stowe/cc-by-2.0

Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about 13 miles (21 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of the Santa Anita Park racetrack, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, and Arcadia County Park. The city had a population of 56,364 at the 2010 census, up from 53,248 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Arcadia, Greece. Due to the settlement of numerous, wealthy Chinese who live in spacious properties in Arcadia, it is now also referred to as the “Chinese Beverly Hills“.   read more…

Karytaina in the highlands of Arcadia

22 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Nochoje/cc-by-3.0

© Nochoje/cc-by-3.0

Karytaina is a village and a community in Arcadia. Karytaina is situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Alpheios, near its confluence with the Lousios. Karytaina is 54 km (34 mi) from the capital of Arcadia, Tripoli, 20 km (12 mi) from Megalopoli and 17 km (11 mi) from Stemnitsa, built on the slopes of the hill of Achreiovouni, some 550 m above sea level. The village dates back to the Middle Ages, but its history is unknown before the Crusader conquest ca. 1205. Karytaina became the seat of a barony under the Frankish Principality of Achaea, and the Castle of Karytaina was built in the mid-13th century on a steep rocky outcrop by Baron Geoffrey of Briel. The area returned to Byzantine control in 1320, and came under Ottoman control in 1460. After a brief period of Venetian rule (1687–1715), Karytaina returned to Ottoman control, and prospered as an administrative and commercial centre. Karytaina and its inhabitants were among the first to rise up during the Greek War of Independence of 1821–29. Today Karytaina is a protected traditional settlement and has, alongside the remains of its Frankish castle, several other medieval and Ottoman monuments.   read more…

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