Lixouri ( el, Ληξούρι) is a town and a municipality in the island of Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands of western

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 ...

. It is the main town on the peninsula of

Paliki Paliki ( el, Παλική) is a peninsula and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. At the 2011 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kefalonia. In 2019 this municipality was divided int ...

, and the second largest town in Kefalonia after

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 before

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

. It is located south of Fiskardo and west of

. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It has one municipal unit:

History

The town was founded when citizens of ancient town Pale/Pali found a new location for a town. The town was named after Paleas or Pileas, one of the four sons of the mythical king Kefalos (the island was named after king Kefalos). The old city was abandoned completely by the 16th century, but some ancient ruins can still be seen north of the town. The oldest document which contains the name "Lixouri" was sent in 1534 by local authorities to the Senate of Venice. In the 19th century Lixouri was a popular tourist destination; Richard Strauss visited the town. Many houses were destroyed in the earthquakes on January 23, 1867 and in August 1953. In the early 1950s the Royal Family of Greece sent their children for summer holidays to Lixouri. In the 1990s Lixouri increased in popularity as a tourist destination and some larger hotels were built south of the town near the beaches.

Literature

Lixouri is the home town of the poet and satirical author Andreas Laskaratos, who wrote about life in his home town. The Kay Cicellis book "Death of a Town" (1954) begins in Lixouri and describes the time of the earthquake. In 1720 Petros Katsaitis, who lived in Lixouri, wrote his play "Iphigenia"; Spyros Evangelatos' edition of the play in 1995 retitled it "Iphigenia in Lixouri".

Ilka Chase Ilka Chase (April 8, 1905 – February 15, 1978) was an American actress, radio host, and novelist. Biography Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, Chase was the only child ...

wrote about the town in "The Varied Airs of Spring" (1969) as did Georges Haldas in "A la recherche du rameau d'or" (1976).

Infrastructure

Lixouri has a few primary schools and few middle schools (gymnasia), and high schools (lyceums). The 1st Primary School of Lixouri is one of the few buildings in the town that still stands from before the 1953 earthquake. The

Ionian university The Ionian University (Greek: Iόνιο Πανεπιστήμιο) is a university located in the Ionian Islands, Greece. It is one of the newest institutions of Higher Education in Greece, created in 1984 pursuant to presidential order 83/84 Φ ...

has a campus in Lixouri, where the department of Ethnomusicology. The public library and a museum are located at the Iakovateios building, also preserved from before the earthquake. Since 2003 Lixouri also has a theatre.

Transportation

Lixouri has a small port with a ferry to

for vehicles under 5 tons, running every hour or half-hour in peak season. In the summer, there is a service to Patras and Killini on the mainland. The KTEL bus service has a station in Lixouri with routes to Patras and Athens, via the port of Sami. There is a twice-daily bus service to the villages of the

peninsula. Some hotels provide offer bus services, including to the XI-Beach and Kounopetra.

Demographics

Subdivisions

The municipality of Lixouri contains one municipal unit:

. This municipal unit consists of the following communities (that were independent municipalities and communities before the 1997

Kapodistrias reform Kapodistrias reform ( el, Σχέδιο Καποδίστριας, "Kapodistrias Plan") is the common name of law 2539 of Greece, which reorganised the country's administrative divisions. The law, named after 19th-century Greek statesman Ioannis Kapod ...

). Constituent settlements are given in brackets. * Agia Thekli (Agia Thekli, Kalata) * Atheras * Chavdata * Chavriata (Agios Ioannis, Chavriata) * Damoulianata * Favatata * Kaminarata (Kaminarata, Moni Kipouraion) * Katogi (

Mantzavinata Mantzavinata ( el, Μαντζαβινάτα) is a village in the southwest of Kefalonia island, Greece, where the famous Mantzavino Wine is sold. Mantzavinata is 4 km southwest of Lixouri on the Paliki peninsula. Mantzavinata has three chu ...

, Vardianoi (island), Vouni) * Kontogenada * Kouvalata (Kouvalata, Livadi) *Lixouri ( Agios Dimitrios, Agios Vasileios, Lepeda, Lixouri, Loukerata, Michalitsata) * Monopolata (Delaportata, Monopolata, Parisata) * Rifi * Skineas (Skineas, Vlychata) * Soullaroi

Notable people

* Georgios Bonanos (1863–1940), sculptor *

Antiochos Evangelatos Antiochos Evangelatos (sometimes spelled Evanghelatos) (Greek: Αντίοχος Ευαγγελάτος; 1903 – 1981) was a Greek classical composer and conductor. Biography He was born in Lixouri, Cefalonia on 25 December 1903. He stud ...

(1903–1981), composer and conductor * Andreas Laskaratos (1811–1901), poet *

Spyridon Marinatos Spyridon Nikolaou Marinatos ( el, Σπυρίδων Νικολάου Μαρινάτος; November 4, 1901 – October 1, 1974) was a Greek archaeologist, best known for leading excavations at Akrotiri on Santorini (1967–74), where he died and i ...

(1901–1974) archaeologist *

Dionysios Zakythinos Dionysios A. Zakythinos or Zakythenos ( el, Διονύσιος Α. Ζακυθηνός; 1905 in Lixouri, Kefalonia – 18 January 1993, in Athens) was a leading Greek Byzantinist. Zakythinos was born in Kefalonia in 1905. After graduating from the ...

(1905–1993), Byzantinist * Giovanni Francesco Zulatti (1762–1805), physician and author

References

External links

Lixouri , Tourist Guide KefaloniaVisit.com

GTP Travel Pages - Lixouri
{{Authority control Populated places in Cephalonia Municipalities of the Ionian Islands (region)