User:Olpaizi/Κιόνι Ιθάκης

Kioni is a seaside village of Ithaca. It belongs to the municipality of Ithaca in the prefecture of Kefallinia and is 24 km from the island's capital, Vathi. It is the only settlement of the homonymous municipal district and according to the 2001 census has 171 inhabitants.

The village is built at the bottom of a bay. At its entrance there are three ruined windmills. In the natural port, the yachts of the visitors of the island find the arachnovoli in the summer months.

The creation of the settlement dates back to the 16th century, when inhabitants from Anogi settled in the area. In fact, some houses of that time are still preserved. The settlement has been characterized as protected thanks to these well-preserved houses, which even survived the strong earthquakes that shook the Ionian Islands from time to time.

Since 1809 the island of Ithaca is part of the independent state "United States of the Ionian Islands" under the rule of the United Kingdom but in 1864 it is integrated with the rest of Greece.

In 1953 with the great earthquake of Cephalonia, many houses in Kioni were completely destroyed but some that survived testify to the architectural influence of both the Venetians and the English.

Churches
Apart from the well-preserved houses, the village is known for all three of its historic temples. The church of Agios Nikolaos, in Mavronas, Evangelistria and Agios Ioannis Lombardiaris. The last two have excellent hagiography, while Agios Ioannis has an additional wood-carved iconostasis.