Tsaritsani

Tsaritsani (Τσαριτσάνη ) or Tsiaritsiani (local Τσιαρίτσιανη ) is a village and a community of the Elassona municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform, it was an independent community. The community of Tsaritsani covers an area of 57.791 km2.

Geography


Tsaritsani lies in the northwestern part of Larissa regional unit, 40 km from Larissa, at the foot of Mount Olympus. It has a land area of 57.791 km2. Its geography includes farmlands in the valley areas, the mountains are around the area as well as grasslands, ledges are to be founded in some areas and barren area in the higher elevations.

Economy
The population of Tsaritsani is occupied in animal husbandry, agriculture (mainly grain, vegetables and tobacco) and winery.

History
The name of Tsaritsani is of Slavic origin, most likely from Tsar or Tsaritsa. The history of Tsaritsani starts with the Slavic settlement of Greece in the seventh century AD. The settlement is recorded as village and with two names first as "Kiliseli" and as "Çerniçani" in the Ottoman Tahrir Defter number 101 dating to 1521. The village participated in the Greek War of Independence and offered fighters to the Sacred Band.

The first guerilla groups of the Greek People's Liberation Army in the area were created from residents of Tsaritsani. The village is the ancestral home of popular wartime singer Sofia Vembo. The village witnessed mass execution of its people twice, on 12 March 1943 and on 20 August 1944 by the Italian and German occupation forces respectively. As a result, Tsaritsani is a stronghold of the left.

In the European Parliament elections of 2014 the Communist Party of Greece received a 30.83% share of the vote in the village, when its nationwide share was 6.11%.

Sports
Tsaritsani is home to Oikonomos Tsaritsani, a football club that has competed in the third tier of Greek football. Greek international footballer Giorgos Mitsibonas, a Tsaritsani native, started his career from the club.