Stefani, Preveza
Encyclopedia
Stefani is a village in the municipality of Louros
Louros
Louros is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was the small town of Louros . The area of the municipal unit is...

, Preveza Prefecture
Preveza Prefecture
Preveza is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Preveza.-Geography:The regional unit of Preveza is located northwest of the Ambracian Gulf. The Ionian Sea lies to the west. The terrain is mostly hilly. The mountains of Xerovouni are in...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Stefani had a 2001 population of 513 for the village. It is located north of the GR-21
Greek National Road 21
Greek National Road 21 is a national highway of Greece. It connects Preveza with Greek National Road 5....

 (Filippiada - Preveza) and west of the GR-5
Greek National Road 5
Greek National Road 5 is a highway in Western Greece. It runs from 2 km south of Rio at GR-8/GR-9 , or at the beginning of the Patras By-Pass in the south up to the city centre of Ioannina. It is now connected with a new bridge, the Rio-Antirio bridge and for 5 km is a joint with GR-48...

/E55
European route E55
European route E 55 is a E-route. It passes through the following cities:Helsingborg … Helsingør – Copenhagen – Køge – Vordingborg – Nykøbing Falster – Gedser … Rostock – Berlin – Lübbenau – Dresden – Teplice – Prague – Tábor – Linz – Salzburg – Villach – Tarvisio – Udine – Palmanova – Mestre...

 (Patras - Antirrio - Agrinio - Ioannina) and will be linked with the Ionia Odos
Ionia Odos
The Ionia Odos , sometimes called Ionian Highway in English, is a motorway, currently under construction, running through the western part of Greece. The total length will be 196 km from Rio to Ioannina. It is part of the E55 on its full length, along with the non-motorway part of Kakavia -...

.

Location

Stefani is located west of Filippiada
Filippiada
Filippiada is a small town and a former municipality in the Preveza peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ziros, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 8,429 . Filippiada is divided into smaller regions entailing Old Filippiada,...

 and Arta
Arta, Greece
Arta is a city with a rich history in northwestern Greece, capital of the peripheral unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia . Arta is famous for its old bridge located over the Arachthos River, situated west of downtown...

, northeast of Preveza
Preveza
Preveza is a town in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epirus. An immersed tunnel, completed in 2002 which runs between Preveza and Actium, connects the town...

, east-northeast of Louros
Louros
Louros is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was the small town of Louros . The area of the municipal unit is...

 and south-southeast of Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

.

Geography

The village is in the north side of the Ambracian Gulf
Ambracian Gulf
The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf , is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. About long and wide, it is one of the largest enclosed gulfs in Greece...

 and the Louros
Louros
Louros is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was the small town of Louros . The area of the municipal unit is...

 river. Much of the area are mountains, it contains a small valley that are mainly consists of groves and other farms. Forests are not far from the village. In the east, it is hidden by Profitis Ilias, west by the Ypsoma Randos and Zalogo. The main power line connecting Preveza and southwestern Greece and Ioannina and northern Epirus runs to the mountain slope.

History

The village is first mentioned by the historian George Finlay
George Finlay
George Finlay was a Scottish historian. He was the brother of Kirkman Finlay.Finlay was born at Faversham, Kent, where his Scottish father, Captain John Finlay FRS, an officer in the Royal Engineers, was inspector of government powder mills. His father died in 1802, and his Scottish mother and...

 as the Kantza narrows, when the Souliotes
Souliotes
Souliotes were a warlike community from the area of Souli, in Greece, who became famous across Greece for their resistance against the local Ottoman Pashalik of Yanina ruled by the Muslim Albanian Ali Pasha...

 sent aid to Peta
Peta, Greece
Peta is a town and a former municipality in the Arta peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nikolaos Skoufas, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Population 4,904 . Its 2001 population was 1,916 for the town, 3,896 for the...

 and were attacked by the Turks there in August 1822 during the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

. The village remained under Ottoman rule until the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...

. North the village features the ruins of ancient Batia (Βάτια) which was settled by the Eleans
Elis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...

 in the 7th century BC. Geographically, it lies within the ancient region of Kassope (Κασσώπη).

In the nicer part of Stefani features stone-pyrite remains from the Middle Paleolithic Age (around 40000-24000 BC, it was located in the area of the Hellenistic fortress first constructed in 323-321 BC), a Roman water tower of Nikopolis (31 AD and later). They are preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina.

After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

, the village was extensively rebuilt. Its population also declined but recently grew and nearly doubled between the 1991 and the 2001 census.

Much of the houses were stone built until the 1960s. Electricity arrived in the same year. Vehicles arrived in the 1970s, the pavement of the main road and television arrived in the 1980s and computer and internet are rarely known in the beginning of the 21st century and up to date technology are rarely seen.

Other

Stefani has a school, a lyceum (middle school) a gymnasium (secondary school), churches, banks, shops and a square (plateia
Plateia
Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...

).

See also

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