Keramidi
Encyclopedia
Keramidi is a village and a former community
in Magnesia, Thessaly
, Greece
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rigas Feraios
, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 782 (2001). Keramidi combines mountain and sea. It is situated at 300 meters above sea level and at about 5 kilometers from the north Aegean Sea
. It is believed that there was a citadel and supply community at the sea level, dating back to the ancient Greece, which may have been called Kastanea, at the time of Homer
. He mentions Kastanea as the locale where the Persian fleet was run ashore by a storm.
There exist the remains of a massive-stone, fortified castle, and a legend that the treasures carried by the fleet were brought ashore and buried.
The location of the Kastanea Castle is at top of a cliff by the sea, whereas Keramidi was built higher-up at the side of a mountain that is not readily visible from the sea. There, as early as the 17th century, the community of Keramidi grew isolated from the influence of the Turks during the 400-year occupation of Greece by the Ottoman Empire
.
Until the early 1950s, there was only access to Keramidi by mules and horses, and by always by the sea. Kamari, meaning the pride, has been the port/beach for Keramidi. Kamari is now one of the least polluted shores and a summer/vacation hamlet. There is an asphalt-top road that connects Keramidi with Kamari. Also, there is the port and hamlet of Agrilia, where fisherman moor their boats now instead of the beach of Kamari.
Communities and Municipalities of Greece
For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...
in Magnesia, Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rigas Feraios
Rigas Feraios (municipality)
Rigas Feraios is a municipality in the Magnesia peripheral unit, Thessaly, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Velestino. The municipality was named after the Greek writer and revolutionary Rigas Feraios, whose hometown Velestino is....
, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 782 (2001). Keramidi combines mountain and sea. It is situated at 300 meters above sea level and at about 5 kilometers from the north Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. It is believed that there was a citadel and supply community at the sea level, dating back to the ancient Greece, which may have been called Kastanea, at the time of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. He mentions Kastanea as the locale where the Persian fleet was run ashore by a storm.
There exist the remains of a massive-stone, fortified castle, and a legend that the treasures carried by the fleet were brought ashore and buried.
The location of the Kastanea Castle is at top of a cliff by the sea, whereas Keramidi was built higher-up at the side of a mountain that is not readily visible from the sea. There, as early as the 17th century, the community of Keramidi grew isolated from the influence of the Turks during the 400-year occupation of Greece by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Until the early 1950s, there was only access to Keramidi by mules and horses, and by always by the sea. Kamari, meaning the pride, has been the port/beach for Keramidi. Kamari is now one of the least polluted shores and a summer/vacation hamlet. There is an asphalt-top road that connects Keramidi with Kamari. Also, there is the port and hamlet of Agrilia, where fisherman moor their boats now instead of the beach of Kamari.