Lixouri
Encyclopedia
Paliki
Paliki is a peninsula and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kefalonia, of which it is a municipal unit. The name comes from the ancient town of Pale/Pali, which was north of Lixouri and is...
in the island of Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
, one of the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
of western Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Lixouri is the second largest community in Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
after Argostoli
Argostoli
Argostoli is a town and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kefalonia, of which it is a municipal unit...
and before Sami and is the capital of the small peninsula. It is located south of Fiskardo
Fiskardo
Fiskardo , lately, more commonly Fiscardo, is a village located about 54 km north of Argostoli and a district of the city of Erisos....
, west of Argostoli
Argostoli
Argostoli is a town and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kefalonia, of which it is a municipal unit...
.
History
The city was found, when citizens of Pale/Pali found a new location for a town. The old city was left completely until 16th century. The oldest document which contains the name "Lixouri" was sent in 1534 by local authorities to the Senate of Venice. In the 19th century Lixouri was a popular tourist destination; Richard StraussRichard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
visited the town. Many houses were destroyed in the earthquakes on January 23, 1867 and in August 1953. In the early 1950s the Royal Family of Greece sent their children some times for summer holidays to Lixouri. In the 1990s Lixouri became again a popular tourist destination and some larger hotels were built south of the town near the beaches.
Literature
Lixouri is the home town of the poet and satirical author Andreas LaskaratosAndreas Laskaratos
Andreas Laskaratos was a satirical poet and writer from the Ionian island of Cefalonia or [Kefallinia]. He was excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church because his satire targeted many of the church's eponymous members....
, who wrote about the life in his home town. Kay Cicellis book "Death of a Town" (1954) begins in Lixouri and describes the time of the earthquake. In 1956 Petros Katsaitis wrote his play "Iphigenia in Lixourion". Ilka Chase
Ilka Chase
Ilka Chase was an American actress and novelist.Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, she was the only child of Edna Woolman Chase, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, and her first husband, Francis Dane Chase.Chase made...
in "The Varied Airs of Spring" (1969) and Georges Haldas in "A la recherche du rameau d'or" (1976) wrote also about the town.
Infrastructure
Lixouri has a few schools and few lyceums or middle schools, a few gymnasia or high schools and a college. The public library is located at the Iakovateios building. On the Lixouri campus of the “Technological Education Institute (T.E.I) of the Ionian Islands” two faculties are established: business administration and acustics.Since 2003 Lixouri has also a theatre.
Transportation
Lixouri has a small port with a ferry line with services to ArgostoliArgostoli
Argostoli is a town and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kefalonia, of which it is a municipal unit...
(in the season every 1 or 1/2 hour) that is used for vehicles under 5 tons. Other services are in summer to Patras and Killini on the mainland. The KTEL bus service has a station in Lixouri and offers routes ending in Patras and Athens (via the port of Sami). Some Hotels offer own bus services e.g. from Lixouri to the XI-Beach and Kounopetra. One bus line is driving twice a day through all villages of the peninsula, Paliki
Paliki
Paliki is a peninsula and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kefalonia, of which it is a municipal unit. The name comes from the ancient town of Pale/Pali, which was north of Lixouri and is...
but it is not very often used.
Demography
These numbers are about the main town Lixouri and not with the settlements and suburbs.| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1981 | 3,004 |
| 1991 | 3,181 |
| 2001 | 3,610 |
Subdivisons
The administrative subdivisions (the bold) and settlements of Lixouri ("Dimos Palikis) since 1997:
|
|
|
Mantzavinata Mantzavinata is a village in the southwest of Kefalonia, Greece, where the famous Mantzavino Vine is sold. Mantzavinata is 4 km southwest of Lixouri on the peninsula Paliki. Mantzavinata has three churches and a small square called Lemonata... |
Matzavinata contains also the settlement Kounopetra and the island Vardiani and had with them the official name "Katogi".
Notable people
- Antiochos EvangelatosAntiochos EvangelatosAntiochos Evangelatos was a Greek composer and conductor. He was born in Lixouri, Cefalonia on 25 December 1903. He studied composition and conducting in Leipzig, Basel and Vienna with Ludwig, Kofler and Felix Weingartner. From 1933 on he taught composition and counterpoint at the Hellenic...
(1903-1981), Greek composer and conductor - Marinos Geroulanos (1867-1960), surgeon
- Andreas LaskaratosAndreas LaskaratosAndreas Laskaratos was a satirical poet and writer from the Ionian island of Cefalonia or [Kefallinia]. He was excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church because his satire targeted many of the church's eponymous members....
(1811-1901), poet - Elias Meniates (1669-1714), scholar and bishop
- Spyridon MarinatosSpyridon MarinatosSpyridon Nikolaou Marinatos was one of the premier Greek archaeologists of the 20th century.- Career :...
(1901-1974) leading Greek archaeologist - Dionysios ZakythinosDionysios ZakythinosDionysios A. Zakythinos or Zakythenos was a leading Greek Byzantinist.Zakythinos was born in Kefalonia in 1905. After graduating from the University of Athens in 1927, he went to the Sorbonne, which at the time was a major center of Byzantine studies with scholars like Charles Diehl and Ferdinand...
(1905-1993), leading Greek Byzantinist