Kanala is a seaside settlement in

Kythnos Kythnos (, ), commonly called Thermia (), is a Greek island and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea (island), Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythn ...

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 ...

. According to the

2011 Greek census The 2011 Population and Housing Census (), branded as (), was a population census in Greece conducted by the Hellenic Statistical Authority on behalf of the Greek state between 10 and 24 May 2011. It was conducted as part of the 2011 European Unio ...

its population was 24 people. It is known for the church of

Panagia Kanala Panagia Kanala (Greek language, Greek: Παναγιά Κανάλα) refers to an Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox icon of the Virgin Mary and the Sanctuary under the same name hosting the icon, in Kanala, Kythnos, Kanala, on the Greek i ...

Description

Kanala is located on the southeastern coast of Kythnos, from the port of Merihas, from Chora, and from Dryopida. It is named after the church and icon of Panagia Kanala, the latter attributed to a Greek painter of the 17th century. The village It is built on a cape, between 3 consecutive beaches (Antonides, Ammoudaki & Psili Ammos).Freely, p. 40 Kanala is known for its two grand fests or panigiri dedicated to Virgin Mary, on 15 August and 8 September. It was first recorded as a settlement in the 1961 census with six inhabitants. Administratively it belonged until 1997 to the community of Dryopida, and since then it has been part of the municipality of Kythnos.

Panagia Kanala

The current church of

was built in 1869 on the site of an older church. It is a place of religious pilgrimage, as the homonymous

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

is kept there, which is honoured by the Orthodox Church as a miraculous icon. According to tradition, it was found by local fishermen in the narrow channel between

and

Serifos Serifos () is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades, south of Kythnos and northwest of Sifnos. It is part of the Milos regional unit. The area is and the population was 1,241 at the 2021 census. It is located about ...

, and is referred to as the work of the

hagiographer A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...

Emmanuel Skordilis. Every 15 August, celebrations take place in the settlement, including a procession of the icon, a re-enactment of its discovery and a big festival. A festival is also held on 8 September.

Gallery

File:Κανάλα πευκοδάσος.jpg, alt=, Kanala pine forest File:Παναγιά Κανάλα Κύθνος.jpg, alt=, Panagia Kanala File:Area of the Panagia Kanala, 190420.jpg, alt=, Within the area of Panagia Kanala File:Αγία Καλλιόπη Κανάλα.jpg, alt=, The church of Agia Kalliopi File:Κanala Kythnos, Megali ammos beach201808.jpg, alt=, Megali Ammos Beach

References

Bibliography

* Freely, John (2006). ''The Cyclades. Discovering the Greek Islands of the Aegean''. London: I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd. {{coord, 37, 20, 48, N, 24, 26, 10, E, type:city_region:GR, display=title Populated places in Kea-Kythnos Kythnos