Chorio or Horio () is a village in '' Ano Panta'' region, on the island of Othoni and it is the westernmost point of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It was the first settlement and the unofficial capital of the island. At the top of the Chorio hill is the Saint George Orthodox church (built in 1864). Chorio is about 7 kilometres away from the port of the island, Ammos and about 2 kilometres on foot from

Imerovigli Imerovigli () is a village on the island of Santorini, Greece, situated north of the island capital Fira. Imerovigli is built on the rim of the Santorini caldera and is crossed by narrow, paved paths. Imerovigli's churches are all made in the Cy ...

the highest peak of the island.

Designation

The settlement was called "Chorio" () because it was a densely populated area at the time. At the beginning of its existence there were not any other settlements on the island. This name continues until today. Chorio is also called "The Capital of Othonoi" () The

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

of the locals is ''Chorianos'' - plural: ''Choriani'' (). All of them have the same surname ( Katechis) as they are relatives.

History

The first settlers of Othoni came from

Paxos Paxos () is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, lying just south of Corfu. As a group with the nearby island of Antipaxos and adjoining islets, it is also called by the plural form Paxi or Paxoi (, pronounced in English and in Greek). The main t ...

and

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

in the 16 century, and decided to build their homes at this point of the island because of the protection it offered from pirate attacks, being the only place out of sight from the sea. The main work of the villagers was the olive and oil production as some of them had private oil presses next to their homes. Many of the male population of Chorio were seamen (captains, engineers etc.).

Visitor attractions

The houses of Chorio are traditionally made with stone walls and ceramic roofs and they have a lot of similarities with the Corfiat traditional architecture although do not share the Venetian style. They rather tend to relate to the Epirus traditional architectural type. Each of them is close to each other as all the owners are relatives. The orthodox church of Saint George was built in 18th century at the highest peak of Chorio hill, where everyone can enjoy the view of the other parts of the island,

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Ereikoussa Ereikoussa () is an island and a former community of the Ionian Islands, Greece. It is one of the Diapontian Islands; an island complex to the northwest of Corfu. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Central ...

Mathraki Mathraki (, ) is an island and a former community of the Ionian Islands (region), Ionian Islands, Greece. It is one of the Diapontian Islands. Since the 2019 local government reform, it is part of the municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontian Is ...

and Ionian sea. Plenty of visitors and locals are visiting the highest peak of Othoni, Imerovigli (392 m height) which is about 2 km on foot from the settlement. Its trail is reopened by private initiatives of "Choriani" and other locals.newmail.gr/ένωσαν-δυνάμεις-και-άνοιξαν-το-μονοπά Another great place is "Iliovasilema" (sunset) which is about 200 m from Chorio with beautiful view of

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

Gallery

File:Koukouli rock, Othoni island.jpg, Koukouli rock File:View from Graves (Iliovasilema), Chorio, Othoni island.jpg, Sunset, Chorio File:Chorio square, Chorio, Othoni island.jpg, Ztrila square, Chorio File:Άγιος Γεώργιος - Χωριό - Οθωνοί.jpg, Saint George, Chorio

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Corfu (regional unit) Othonoi