Othonoi

Othonoi ( , also rendered as Othoni, ) is a small inhabited Greek island in the Ionian Sea, located northwest of Corfu, and is the westernmost point of Greece. Othonoi is the largest and most populated of the Diapontian Islands. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontian Islands. In the 19th century the island was the capital of the Diapontia Islands municipality, which also included nearby islands of Ereikoussa, Mathraki, islets and rocks of Diakopo, Diaplo, Karavi, Kastrino, Leipso, Ostrako, Plaka, Plateia and Tracheia. Othonoi is about 47 nautical miles from Santa Maria di Leuca cape, Italy.

Othonoi ( , also rendered as Othoni, ) is a small inhabited Greek island in the Ionian Sea, located northwest of Corfu, and is the westernmost point of Greece. Othonoi is the largest and most populated of the Diapontian Islands. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontian Islands. In the 19th century the island was the capital of the Diapontia Islands municipality, which also included nearby islands of Ereikoussa, Mathraki, islets and rocks of Diakopo, Diaplo, Karavi, Kastrino, Leipso, Ostrako, Plaka, Plateia and Tracheia. Othonoi is about 47 nautical miles from Santa Maria di Leuca cape, Italy.

Name

The first name according to ancient texts (Hesychius, 3rd cent. BC) was "Othronos" (Ὀθρωνός), "Othronoi" (Ὀθρωνοί) and by Procopius seems to be "Othonē" (Ὀθωνή) (6th c.). According to Pliny (1st cent.), it was "Thoronos" (Θόρονος). Other names were "Fidonisi" (Snake island) because of the many snakes that are said to have invaded the island, and "Fanò" (Lamp) which is used in international charters and by the Italians because of the lighthouse situated on the island. Othoni was called Ogygia or "Calypso island" in many maps of the 17th and 18th centuries. Another Greek name for the island is "Astakonisi" (Αστακονήσι); the Albanian name is Strakëna, which may be a cognate of it that ultimately derives from reconstructed Doric Greek Ostrakonásion ( ). A second etymological approach for the latter, is that it derives from the plural of the Greek adjective ostrakinón (οστρακινόν), which is ostrakiná (οστρακινά); likely expressing a quality of the island. Nowadays the Othonians living in Corfu sometimes call the island "Pera" ("Πέρα" meaning: beyond), as the island is located beyond Corfu.

History

At the beginning of the second millennium, the island was conquered alternatively by the Franks (the 11th century) and the Venetians (12th century), and often attacked by pirates of Barbary and Algeria. From the end of 1383 until 1386 the domination of Corfu was held by Charles III of Naples. In a letter from April 19, 1383, he granted the usufruct of Othonoi, Ereikoussa, Mathraki, Diapolo and Vido, to the knight Theodore Skaliti as fief. In 1537, the Turkish fleet under the command of Hayreddin Barbarossa massacred the inhabitants of Othoni island after a long battle. In Stavros district at an altitude of 217 m. a white stone cross exists until today to commemorate that event. The last settlers of Othonoi apparently came from Paxos and Ioannina, Parga and the region of Epirus. This occurred after the Battle of Nafpaktos in 1571 when the Turkish fleet was destroyed and the islanders began to move more safely. After the last movement, the residents of Othonoi island colonized the two other small islands, Ereikoussa and Mathraki. In 1815, the British conquered Othonoi. With the Treaty signed on March 29, 1864, between the three powers (United Kingdom, France, Russia) and the Kingdom of Greece, the Ionian Islands including the Diapontian islands passed definitively to Greek sovereignty on 21 May. From 1869 until 1912 Othonoi, Ereikousa and Mathraki formed the municipality of Dimos Diapontion with Othonoi as capital.

Sinking of Submarine Protefs

On 29 December 1940, the Greek submarine Protefs sank in the sea area of Othonoi. The submarine had attacked an Italian convoy carrying ammunition to Vlorë. After sinking the steamer Sardegna, the submarine was rammed by the . The loss of the submarine was the first loss of the Greek Navy in World War II. A monument to honor the memory of the crew was inaugurated in Othonoi on June 15, 2015.

Settlements

Othonoi is divided into two regions which are Ano Panta ( ) and Kato Panta ( ). There are more than 20 settlements.

Main sights

Churches

Holy Trinity church ( ) (1892) at Ammos. Virgin Mary church ( ) near Stavros district. Saint George church( ) (about 1864) at Chorio. Agia Paraskevi church ( ) (and the old stone mill) at Damaskatika.

Other buildings

School of Othonoi ( ) (1912) at Ammos. Ruins of the Venetian fortress at the northeast end of Kastri cape hilltop at an altitude of 100 m. Lighthouse of Othonoi ( ) (built in 1872).

Monuments

Cross monument at Stavros, for the massacre of the inhabitants of Othonoi by the Ottoman fleet under Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1537. Monument to seafarers of Othonoi island, at Ammos. Monument to submarine PROTEUS, at Ammos.

Nature

Aspri Ammos beach ( ) which is accessible only by boat to the west of the island. Cave of Calypso ( ), near of Aspri ammos beach. Mount Imerovigli ( ) and the highest peak of the island with height of Kamara ( ) near Ammos. Iliovasilema (sunset) at Chorio.

Others

Port of Ammos ( ) is the most populous district with small guesthouses, restaurants, rent-a-bike store, cafes, police station, a community clinic with ambulance and port authority.

In literature

Ionion akron. Greece in the narrow of Otranto ( ) ( ) Folklore mission to Diapontia islands, by Dimitrios Loukatos, 2012 ( ) ( ) Ereikoussa, the extra garden and the continental shelf of Diapontia islands by Greek journalist, Georgios Lekakis, 2014 ( ) ( ) The Fiddler's daughter ( ) by Dimitra Kapelouzou, 2004 ( )

Gallery

File:Κορυφή όρους Ημεροβίγγλι.jpg|Imerovigli, highest point of Othoni File:Othoni lighthouse.jpg|Othonoi's lighthouse File:Koukouli rock, Othoni island.jpg|Koukouli rock File:View from Graves (Iliovasilema), Chorio, Othoni island.jpg|Sunset, Chorio File:Ammos port, Othoni island.jpg|Ammos port File:Virgin Mary church in Dafni.jpg|Virgin Mary church, Ano Panta File:Aspri ammos beach, Othoni island, Greece.jpg|Aspri ammos beach File:Chorio square, Chorio, Othoni island.jpg|Ztrila square, Chorio File:Stone bridge, Othoni island.jpg|One of the old stone bridges of Othonoi File:View of Ammos district, Othoni island.jpg|Ammos district File:Άγιος Γεώργιος - Χωριό - Οθωνοί.jpg|Saint George, Chorio File:Path to the cost of Fiki.jpg|Trail sign

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1364104957 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.