Markopoulo ( el, Μαρκόπουλο) is a village and a community in the southeastern part of the island of

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is situated at the southeastern foot of

Mount Ainos Mount Aenos or Ainos (Ancient Greek: '' Ὄρος Αἶνος''; Modern Greek: '' Όρος Αίνος''; Italian: ''Monte Nero'' or ''Montagna Nera'') is the tallest mountain on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, Greece, with an elevation of . It ...

, at about 250 m elevation. The community consists of the villages Markopoulo (population 85 in 2011), Kateleios (pop. 36) and the beach village Kato Kateleios (pop. 156). Markopoulo is located 1 km east of

Chionata Chionata ( el, Χιονάτα) is a village and a community in the southeastern part of the island of Cephalonia, Greece. It is situated in the plain between the southeastern slope of Mount Ainos and the Ionian Sea coast. Its population in 2011 was ...

, 2 km west of Kateleios, 2 km northwest of Kato Kateleios, 6 km west of

Skala Skala may refer to: Places Greece * Skala, Patmos, the main port on the island of Patmos in Greece * Skala, Laconia, a municipality in southern Greece * Skala, Xanthi, a settlement in north-eastern Greece * Skala, Cephalonia, a resort in the ...

and 9 km southwest of

Poros Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greece, Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas, Troizina, Galatas on ...

Historical population

History, agriculture, tourism

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

remains have been found nearby in the Sakkos cave, in Skala and in the Mounda Bay area. At nearby Mavrata there is a tomb from the

Mycenaean period Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland ...

while

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

remains visible just behind the main Agia Barbara beach indicate settlement in Kateleios over 2000 years ago. Although Mounda Bay is very shallow there is also some evidence that Kateleios was a port and trading centre during the Venetian period, witnessed by the remains of an old pier or mole in the bay. Like virtually all of Kefalonia (except the Fiskardo area), the villages were destroyed during the

1953 Ionian earthquake The 1953 Ionian earthquake (also known as the Great Kefalonia earthquake) struck the southern Ionian Islands in Greece on August 12. In mid-August, there were over 113 recorded earthquakes in the region between Kefalonia and Zakynthos, and the m ...

and have been rebuilt since. Remains of the old church bell-tower exist in Kateleios. Until quite recently Kato Kateleios was a small collection of fishermen's houses and huts, some of which are still inhabited, and the main town was further up in the valley, at Ano Katelios. Tourism development in recent years saw the construction of restaurants, homes, and rented apartments near the sea-front, which is now considered to be the main settlement of Katelios. The bay of Katelios is a designated marine Natura 2000 site. Due to the shallow waters of the bay and the scattered reef outcrops, the flow of sea water is slower than surrounding waters, making it an ideal habitat for the protected sea grass ''Posidonia oceanica'', which occupies a significant portion of the bay. The beach of Mounda, on the east of the bay and at a short distance from Katelios is a nesting area for the Loggerhead turtles (''Caretta caretta''). Sea turtle nests in this area have been monitored and protected since 1988, while an environmental station operates at the town's old school. Katelios is the only area on the island of Kefalonia with a river that has water flowing throughout the year. The small river flows from the hills around the area of Pastra. Until the middle 19th century, water mills were in regular use, and their remnants can still be seen between Pastra and Katelios.

External links

Katelios Beach , Tourist Guide KefaloniaVisit.comGTP - Markopoulo

References

{{Argostoli div Populated places in Cephalonia

Historical population

History, agriculture, tourism

External links

See also

References