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Petani Beach

Petanoi3

 

ePiETANI” is a word of Homer, meaning an area with abundant water throughout the year.

Petani Beach is another well-known beach of Kefalonia awarded with a blue flag. The Petani Beach consists of fine white fine pebbles and crystal clear turquoise waters.

The path to the beach itself is unique. Following the route Lixouri – Monopolata, Agia Thekli, Vilatoria and approaching the beach you will be amazed by the uniqueness and the beauty of the landscape. The beach is fully organized with canteen, restaurant and sunbeds.

If you can stay until late you will be awarded with a sunset through the mountains.

Antisamos Beach

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The island of Kefalonia attained special glamour and publicity because of the Hollywood production “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”, starring Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale and John Hurt, which was filmed in the year 2000 on the island. The beach that fascinated most viewers was none other than the beach of Antisamos.

Antisamos Beach is one more beach of Kefalonia, which has been awarded with the blue flag.
It’s a beach with small pebbles, located a few kilometers from the port of Sami.

The landscape combines all shades of blue and green, where the vegetation once again grows almost into the sea.

 

Source:

Blue Flags

Katelios Beach

kateleios

 

Katelios is a small fisher village close to Skala. The beach has great sand and clear waters.

Around the beach you will find several taverns with fresh fish.

Therefore you should definitely combine it with your swimming experience.

Kaminia Beach

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Another beautiful beach with warm and shallow waters in southern Kefalonia awaits you.

Kaminia Beach is located near the village of Ratzakli and is visible and accessible through the road to/from Skala.
Kaminia took their name from the furnaces in the area (which were used to make tiles using a type of clay).

The beach is a favorite destination for the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) which travel thousands of miles to lay their eggs in the sand of the beach.

Attention:
Please be careful and never leave any form of trash on the beach.

 

Source:

Medasset

Skala Beach

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Skala is located on the southeastern end of Kefalonia, around 35 km from Argostoli and 12 km away from Poros.

The region of Skala and its village are having a great tourism development over the last years.

One of the major reasons for this is the Beach of Skala; Crystal clear waters, great sand and vegetation that grow almost into the beach. Skala Beach is fully organized but preserves its own distinct character.

Apart from the village and the beach of Skala it is worth visiting other other beautiful beaches and picturesque villages situated in the southeastern part of Kefalonia.

Xi (Ksi) Beach

Xi 1 scaled
The Xi (or Ksi) Beach is a well-known and at the same time beautiful beach of Kefalonia, located 8km south of Lixouri.

Xi Beach however has no steep cliffs or deep waters like most beaches in Kefalonia. Instead it’s very easy accessible, its water is very shallow and thus more than suitable for children.

What makes the Xi Beach so unique and extremely impressive is its reddish color of sand. Because of its clayey composition, one can enjoy a natural and free spa session, as it is said to have cleaning and tightening effects to the skin.

The beach is well organized; you will easily find parking, a canteen, a cafeteria and umbrellas. If you like you can also spread out your towels a bit farther to be more private.
For water sport lovers, Xi Beach offers a big variety (Jet-Ski, Water-Ski etc.).

 

Sources:

Greek Boston

Baywatch Beach Bar & Watersports

Myrtos Beach

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The Myrtos Beach is the trademark of Kefalonia. There is not one person in the world, which has chosen to visit Kefalonia and has not seen the beauty of Myrtos Beach.
It is located in the northern part of Kefalonia and belongs to the municipality of Pilaros. Myrtos Beach is 8 km from Agia Efimia, 3 km from the village Divarata and about 30 km from Argostoli.

The landscape is simply unmatched. Green rocks that result in quite a long beach with white pebbles. The turquoise waters and certainly with or without wave will make your swimming experience unforgettable and definitely will make you take many many photos. It has been voted one of the best beaches in Greece and the world. Every year Myrtos is being awarded from the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) with the blue flag.

One of its main characteristics is that the water gets really deep just two steps from the sea shore. That is why the colour of the water is so impressive. Attention is also required as the currents can be very dangerous on certain days and the protective net should not be trespassed.

Myrtos Beach is also well organized (canteen, umbrellas, sunbeds, lifeguard etc.). You will find everything necessary to enjoy a wonderful day.

Tip:
Do not leave until watching the sunset; it’s a unique experience.

 

Sources:

Discover Greece

This Island Life

Mythology

According to Greek mythology, Kefalonia was named after the King Kefalos, although there have been occasionally other theories regarding the origin of the name.

When the Kings of the Mycenaean Kefalonia claimed the kingdom of Mycenae, Kefalos was one of the two heroes who accompanied Amphitryon on the Mycenaen expedition against Kefalonia.

Kefalonia was first inhabited in the 10th century BC. After the 5th century BC Kefalonia was divided into four autonomous states, known as the Kefalonian Tetrapolis (four cities). Those cities were Krani, Palli, Sami and Pronnon, all named after the four sons of King Kefalos. These four cities were small independent republics and cut their own currencies.

Palli was spread all over the entire western peninsula of the island (today Palliki) and was built on the hill of Dour or Paliokastro. Krani on the other was built on the cove of the lagoon in Koutavos (even today traces of Cyclopean walls are visible) and included the southern part of the island west of Enos. Pronnon was situated in the southeast of Kefalonia and Sami was built on two hills just above the present town and included the entire former province. Sami participated in the Trojan War as part of the Kingdom of Odysseus, sent troops in the Persian Wars and later entered the Athenian Alliance.

By visiting the Archaeological Museum of Argostoli one can see all these great findings, especially from the ones from the Mycenaean tombs of Mazarakaton, of Kokolata and Lakythra.
One of the last findings is the small ancient theater of Fiskardo. It was found accidentally during excavations for constructing a residence.

Sources:

Wikipedia

 

History

The first references of Kefalonias history exist from the period of the Persian Wars, where we find Kefalonians participating in the battle of Plataea.

In 434 BC Kefalonian ships took part in the battle against the Corinthians in Corfu, repelling successfully against the vindictive attitude of the Corinthians.

In the Peloponissian War all four cities of Kefalonia fought on the Athenians side. After the war, Kefalonia abandoned the defeated city of Athens, but in 372 BC stood again on their side in their struggle against King Phillip. In 218 BC King Philip E’, attacked Kefalonia with his fleet. Although he disembarked in Pronnon, the terrain difficulties forced him to abandon his try and move towards Palli. Even though he held Palli under constant siege, he failed to capture any city and was forced to withdraw after some time.

In 187 B.C., the Romans conquered the island after months of confrontations with the local inhabitants. The Roman only wanted to use the island as a strategic point in order to conquer the mainland and turned Kefalonia into an important naval base. During this period of history, Kefalonia was constantly threatened by invaders and pirate raids. During the Byzantine period, from the 4th century A.D., the island was still under the threat of pirate raids and more especially by the famous North African pirates, the Saracens. In 187 B.C., the Romans conquered the island after months of confrontations with the local inhabitants. The Roman saw the island as a strategic point in order to conquer the mainland. During this period Kefalonia was several times threatened by invaders and pirate raids.

During the Byzantine period, from the 4th century AD, the island was threatened by the famous North African pirates, the Saracens. The Byzantine Empire played an important part in the defence of the island against the pirates. The Byzantine era ended in the 11th century when the island fell under Frankish rule. It was then successively conquered by Normans, Orsinis, Andegans and Toccans.

Around 1480, the island was hit by the first wave of Ottoman attacks, led by the famous Ahmed Pasha. The Turks ruled only for a short period but left a desolated island behind them.

Kefalonia, as all the Ionian Islands, fell afterwards under the rule of the Venetians and the Spanish who violated the treaty certifying the Ottoman domination upon the island.
During this period, the fortress of Agios Georgios was the island’s political and military centre but in 1757, an earthquake destroyed everything and the capital was moved to Argostoli.

The Venetian era ended in 1797 when the French occupied Kefalonia. People thought Napoleon would free the Ionian islands from the oligarchic system. They were wrong. In the following years, the combined forces of the Russians, the Turks and the English defeated the French.

In 1800, the “Ionian State” was founded in Constantinople under the Sultan supervision and the island’s nobles got their privileges back.
In 1802, Democratic elections took place and a new Constitution was established in 1803.
In 1807, the island fell again under the French rule but the new Constitution was maintained.
In 1809, the Ionian fell officially under the control of the English (Treaty of Paris) whο established the “United States of the Ionians Islands”. 

Although the island of Kefalonia remained under the English rule, it participated in the Greek Revolution of Independence of 1821 against the Turks who still ruled over Greece and was finally unified with the rest of Greece in 1864.

In 1941, during World War II, the island was occupied by the Italian troops.

In 1943, after Italy’s capitulation, the Italian troops refused to withdraw from the island. That led to the massacre of more than 5.000 Italian soldiers by the German forces.

In 1953, Kefalonia was hit by an enormous earthquake which destroyed major parts of the island.

 

Sources:

Ionion 

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Greeka

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