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| Ithaca
lies off the North
East coast of Kefallinia and
is the Sixth largest island in the
Ionian group. The island is made up from two mountains joined by a narrow
land bridge. |
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Located in the southern part of
the island, stands the capital, Vathy, also known as Ithaca Town. life
here revolves around one of
Greece's largest natural harbours, and the town square area, this is where
the majority of the banks, shops and tavernas on the island are situated. |
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boats enter and leave the port of Vathy, they pass a small islet named
Lazaretto. during a period when the British occupied the island, the islet
was created and was used for sometime as a quarantine area, then later on
as a prison. A small church was built on the islet after the original
buildings collapsed during an earthquake in 1953. |
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Stavros is the largest settlement in the northern part of the island, but
it is still very quiet, with a population of around 250. The red domed
church of the Saviour located in the centre of the village was built in
1922 in the Neo-Byzantine style. Opposite is a park that contains a bust
of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and hero of the Trojan war. also in the
village is a small but interesting museum, and a few bars and tavernas. |
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small fishing village and tourist resort of Frikes has a few hotels and
rooms to let plus a handful of bars and tavernas that line the harbour
side. A large marina has been built to attract some of the many yachts
that sail around this part of the Ionian Sea. |
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| Kioni
is a popular tourist destination and the most picturesque village on the
island. The village mostly survived the earthquake of 1953, and so has
retained some good examples of 19th century Greek architecture. During the
day day-trippers, mostly from Kefalonia,
throng the harbour area for an hour or so, then disappear as fast as they
seem to arrive, then peace prevails until the next boat arrives. During
the evenings, this is a popular stopping off place for yachts with the
harbour being full to capacity most evenings during the high season. The
atmosphere here like the rest of the island is very quiet and laid back.
There are no banks and few shops, with this exclusivity comes higher
prices than those found on the rest of the island. |
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History
Finds from the Neolithic period in the north of Ithaca indicate that there
was some habitation on the island as far back as 3000 B.C. The earliest
settlers lived in the north of the island, but by 1500 B.C. southern
Ithaca was also inhabited. During the Mycenaean period, Ithaca became the
centre of power for the Kefalonian state which included all of the Ionian
islands. The Normans and Franks ruled Ithaca during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries B.C. Ithaca reached its peak around 1000 B.C. which
seems to correspond with Homer's writing of the much disputed
Odyssey. Archaeological finds from this period have been used by
some to support the reading of the Odyssey
as a literal historic interpretation. When Ithaca came under
Dorian rule, its power waned. from 800 to 185 B.C. under the state of
Corinth, Ithaca became a political backwater and remained so when power
was transferred to Rome in 200 B.C. During the Byzantine era 395 to 1185
A.D. Ithaca was annexed to Kefalonia, and from
then on shared much of the history of its larger neighbour. |
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