Kassiopi
Encyclopedia
Kassiopi is a village, and a resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

 on the affluent north east coast of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

. It is in the municipal unit of Kassopaia
Kassopaia
Kassopaia is a village and a former municipality on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corfu, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the northeasternmost tip of the island of Corfu. It has a land area of...

. The town itself has been heavily developed and the more expensive villas are now outside it, but it remains a summer social centre much appreciated by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. During August the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 also arrive en masse.

Population

Year Village population Municipal district population
1981 720 -
1991 872 -
2001 1,076 1,170

About Kassiopi

Uniquely on this coast, as well as the ubiquitous "tourist shops" and every kind of eating and drinking facility, there are banks with cash machines, doctors and pharmacies, internet cafe
Internet cafe
An Internet café or cybercafé is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the café in the name...

s and supermarkets, a school and a church (where sightseers are welcome, as long as they respect the traditions), travel agents and a police station.

Motor boats, which can be driven by children or adults during the daytime only, are available for hire by the day or week, at prices from 70 Euros (US$90) per day. Excursions run daily from the harbour to all parts of the island.

The road runs through the edge of the town, and a loop takes buses as far as the village square, some 229 m (250 yards) from the harbour. In an attempt to alleviate the traffic density that occurred around the harbour, a Car and Coach Park is provided at the top of the town. A free 'Land Train' operates a daytime shuttle service between the car-park and the Harbour, with various stops on the journey. One or two taxis (which run 24 hours a day all over the island, and also function as ambulances) are based here. Both town and country are very safe, at all times of the day and the crime rate has remained consistently low for the whole north-east coast.

History

The town is said to have been founded during the reign of Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos or Pyrros may refer to the following figures from Greek history and mythology:* Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus, son of Achilles* Pyrrhus of Epirus , famous king, to whom the term Pyrrhic victory alludes...

, King of Epirus
Epirus (ancient state)
Epirus was an ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Thessalia and Macedonia to the east and Illyrian tribes to the north...

in the 3rd Century BC, as a supply post during his war with Rome. After the Roman conquest of the island in 230 BC, many Emperors visited, most prominently Emperor Nero, who came to a Temple to Zeus here.

Much of a small headland to the north of the resort is taken up by a Byzantine castle. The castle was subsequently fortified further by the Venetians, and survived sieges from the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century. Today the castle is mainly a ruin, but parts of the walls can be seen from the coastal road around the headland.
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