Martino () is an Arvanitic settlement in the

regional unit The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municip ...

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

in Central Greece, and belongs to the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Lokroi. Martino is located 120 km north from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, at an altitude of 210m. Neighbouring settlements are

Malesina Malesina () is a town and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since 2011 the local government reform, it became a part of the new municipality Lokroi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 103.712 km2. Mal ...

and

Larymna Larymna () is a port town in Phthiotis, Greece. It is situated on the North Euboean Gulf. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is a part of the municipality Lokroi, of which it is a community. Larymna took its name from the ancient Boeotia ...

History

3rd century BC

In the area of Martino, the 3rd century BC, developed a city with the name "Voumelitea". The city flourished until the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period.

The establishment of Martino in 1383 AD

Martino founded around 1383 AD, as a settlement to its present location, and owes its name to Martin Mouzaki, leader of an

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They are bilingual, traditionally speaking Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded ...

faction from the

Muzaka family The Muzaka family was an noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe ( southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mentions ...

of Southern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, whose relatives also founded

Santa Cristina Gela Santa Cristina Gela (Arbëresh language, Arberesh: ''Sëndahstina'') is an Arbëreshë people, Arbëreshë village in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily. The village, along with Contessa Entellina and Piana degli Albanesi, is one of three ...

in Sicily.

Ottoman rule

In 1466 13 households were in the Martino. In 1506 they increased to 46 and in 1521 they reached 77. In 1688 the households of Martino increased to 100, whereas before the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, in 1810, reached 300, all belong to Christian families. The traveler Argyris Philippides, visited Locrida in 1815, wrote about Martino: ''Martino has three hundred Christian houses. Here the common language is

Arvanitika Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika was brought to Southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by Alb ...

. They speak of course and our language (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

).'' “Lokron Chronicles". 1997. Athens: Annual Publication of Historical and Folklore Society Studies of Atalanti (E.I.L.E.A.). Vol.3rd. p.115. In Greek.

From the Greek revolution of 1821 until the Liberation

During the

of 1821, seven combatants from Martino referd: Dimos Angelis, Dimos Vergos, John Kollias, Dimos Kouros, Loukas Martinoaios, Giannakis Mitzou and Panos Theodoris. One of the major battles during the Greek revolution in the region of Locrida was that of Martino, held on January 29, 1829.

Vasos Mavrovouniotis Vasos Mavrovouniotis (, literally "''Vasos the Montenegrin''"; 1797 – 9 June 1847), born as Vaso Brajović ( Serbian: Васо Брајoвић), was a Montenegrin Serb general who played a significant role in the Greek revolution against the ...

with 6th body of 1000 men decimated the Turkish army. The most important result of the victorious battle of the Greeks was that they prevented the Turkish plans for reclaiming the mainland

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 ...

, as well as the program was able to

Kapodistrias Kapodistrias may refer to: * Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek diplomat and Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire and later the first head of state of independent Greece * Augustinos Kapodistrias, Greek soldier and politician * Capodistria, the Italian ...

to negotiate under different and more favorable terms the borders of the newly established, independent

Greek state 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 ...

Martino from the establishment of the modern Greek state until today

In 1840 Martino became the seat of the municipality Larymna. The seat moved to Proskynas in 1857, to return to Martino in 1872. The municipality enclosed the villages: Martino, Pavlos, Traganas, Malesina, Pyrgos, Loutsi, Larymna, Tsouka, Proskynas and Mazi.EETAA local government changes
Larymna In 1882 starts the "Greek School" or "Greek Scholarcheion" in Martino. In the 1894 Atalanti earthquakes that shooked Locrida, caused Martino significant damage. In a total of 1434, 39 people were killed and 23 others injured, while 300 houses collapsed.Karastathis Kostas B. 1999. "Malesina - History - Monuments - Archaeological Sites." Athens. Publication: Group for the rescue of the Byzantine church of Agios Georgios Malesina. p. 145. In Greek Martino became an independent community in 1912, having separated from the former municipality of Larymna. The new community included Martino and the village Tsouka (renamed to Metalleio Tsoukas in 1920).EETAA local government changes
Martino In 1929 the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club "Opountios Martinou" was established. Another key feature here is the presence of several cultural groups. In 1976 founded the Cultural Association of Martino, "MO.SY.M" which seeks to support every kind of act of cultural interest. At the 1997

Kapodistrias reform Kapodistrias reform (, "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 Kapodistrias), passed the Hellenic Parliamen ...

, Martino became the seat of the new municipality of

Opountioi Opountioi () is a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece with an area 129.534 km2 and a population of 2,923 inhabitants (2021 census). It was established in 1997 from the former communities Larymna and Martino. The name refers to the ancie ...

. With the new administrative reform of the Greek state (

Kallikratis plan The Kallikratis Programme () is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the country's administrative divisions following the 1997 Kapodistrias reform. ...

), Martino joined the enlarged municipality of Locroi.

Population

Attractions - Tourism - Cultural events

The old part of the village was declared a protected monument. There is also the Byzantine church of Agios Georgios with Byzantine

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es and icons. Other attractions of the village are the entrance of the temple of Pan and the ancient fountains "Tsorokos" and "Monachou". Each November the 8th, the village celebrates the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

with various events in the central church.

Sources

#Avraam Dimitrios P. 2001. "Locrida - Perivoagria-Epiknymidia." Lamia 2001. (In Greek) #Dakoronia F., Kotoulas D., et al. - "Locris - History & Culture." Publisher: Hatzimichali Estate. (In Greek) #Journal, " Ajax the Locrian 'seventh year, October 27-November–December 2011. - Batsos Nikos A. "The Battle of Martino - January 29, 1829 and Martinoaion participation in the struggle for Freedom." page 3, 8. (In Greek) #Karastathis Kostas B. 1999. "Malesina - History - Monuments - Archaeological Sites." Athens. Publication of the Group for the rescue of the Byzantine church of Agios Georgios in Malesina. (In Greek) #"Lokrika Chronicles". 1997. Athens: Annual Publication of Historical and Folklore Society Research of Atalanti (E.I.L.E.A.). Vol. 3. (In Greek) #"Lokrika Chronicles". 1998. Athens: Annual Publication of Historical and Folklore Society Research Atalanti (E.I.L.E.A.). Vol. 4.(In Greek) #Papanagiotou. D. Triantafyllou. - "1821 in Lokrida - The Battle of Martino and its importance." Publ. Fthiotika Grammata. Athens 1979. (In Greek) #Magazine "Apoplous" Issue 6. 2002. Version: Musical and Cultural Association "Atalanti Choir." page 6. (In Greek) #Protopapas Zissis. 1952. "Locrida". Athens 1952. (In Greek) #Christophorou K. Manthos 1991. - "The Opountion Locrida and Atalanti - Memories and testimonies." 1st Part. Athens: Society for Historical and Folklore Research Atalanti (E.I.L.E.A.). (In Greek) #Christophorou K. Manthos 1993. "The Opountion Locrida and Atalanti - Memories and testimonies." Part second. Athens: Society for Historical and Folklore Research Atalanti (E.I.L.E.A.). (In Greek) #Christophorou K. Manthos 1995. "The Opountion Locrida and Atalanti - Memories and testimonies." Part 3. Athens: Society for Historical and Folklore Research Atalanti (E.I.L.E.A.). (In Greek) #Christophorou K. Manthos 2001. "Timeline Opountios Atalanti and 4000 years – in brief" Ed: Municipality of Atalanti. (In Greek)

Footnotes

{{Lokroi div Populated places in Phthiotis Lokroi (municipality) Populated places established in the 1380s Arvanite settlements