Skala (Greek: Σκάλα) is a village located in the municipal unit of

Eleios-Pronnoi Eleios-Pronnoi ( el, Ελειός-Πρόννοι) is a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argostoli, of which it is a municipal unit. The m ...

, some 39 km south from the island's main town of

Argostoli Argostoli ( el, Αργοστόλι, Katharevousa: Ἀργοστόλιον) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the islan ...

and 14 km SW of

Poros Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small 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 on the mainland across the ...

, in the south of Cephalonia, one of the Ionian Islands of

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 ...

. During the summer, Skala becomes a popular holiday destination.

Villages

The community of Skala consists of the following villages: *Skala, pop. 760 *Aleimmatas, pop. 20 *Ratzakli, pop. 118 *Fanies, pop. 25

History

The current village was built in 1956 and replaces the old village which was levelled during the 1953 Ionian earthquake, killing 36 and injuring hundreds of villagers. The original village was located on the hill behind the present one, as many of the island's were, in order to avoid invasion from raiders and pirates during the previous centuries. The name 'Skala' originates from the Greek word for stairs. It was given this name because when it was in its original place, the houses seemed to ascend almost as though they were a set of stairs. On the edge of the present village is the remains of a 3rd-century Roman villa with some remarkably well preserved mosaics. Visitors can visit the site for a small fee to see the mosaic flooring in three rooms, which were excavated in 1957. Three kilometres along the beach road towards

is the site of a 7th-century Temple dedicated to the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

. Here are the foundation stones and parts of three

Doric columns The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

. During the months of April through to October, Skala becomes a popular tourist resort. With beaches, hotels and many restaurants, the town’s population quadruples during the summer months.

Agriculture

Skala was a farming community up until the onset of tourism in the late 20th century. Most families had and still have fields or small holdings on which they grow summer and winter vegetables. They also have excellent wine producing vineyards, and olive trees which provide Greece's elixir of life, olive oil. Orange, lemon, walnut, almond and fig trees have been planted throughout the area. Herds of goats, sheep and cows freely roam the hillsides around Skala. Multi coloured beehives can be seen dotted around the fields and hillsides, producing Cephalonia's thyme flavoured honey.

Transport

Buses link Skala with the island's main town Argostoli, twice in the morning during the summer months - this reduces to a single service during the winter. Only one bus returns to Skala in the afternoon once the shops in

close at 2pm. There is also a bus connecting Skala to

External links

Skala Beach , Tourist Guide KefaloniaVisit.comSkala community (Elios-Pronnoi Municipality)
website #1]
Skala community (Elios-Pronnoi Municipality) website #2Official guide to Skala Kefalonia - Island of Dreams

References

{{Argostoli div Populated places in Cephalonia