Kefalonia (Cephalonia)
Tourists flock to the well-known Greek islands of Mykonos, Crete, Santorini, and even Corfu, but one small gem in the Ionian Sea is truly a breathtaking rival. We arrive in Kefalonia late afternoon at the port town of Poros and then drive another hour to the capital, Argostoli on the western side of the island. After having been bumped a few days earlier by our booked hotel. John had to scramble to find a substitute and we ended up at a sweet family-owned hotel right on the street facing the port. The island is sandwiched between its northern neighbors Kerkyra (Corfu), Paxi and Lefkada, and to the south by Zakynthos (Zante). Ithaca (island home of Odysseus in Homer's classical poem, The Odyssey) lies closely to the northeast.
Situated remotely from mainland Greece, politically the islands were ruled over time by Rome and Byzantium, and from the 13th to the 15th centuries by the Venetians. When the rest of the Greek Empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Ionians islands resisted but continued to be dominated by the Venetians until the beginning of the Greek National movement of the 18th and 19th centuries. Other nations briefly occupied the Ionian islands but their physical and political connections to Venice and Italy influenced the culture of these western islands.
Situated remotely from mainland Greece, politically the islands were ruled over time by Rome and Byzantium, and from the 13th to the 15th centuries by the Venetians. When the rest of the Greek Empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Ionians islands resisted but continued to be dominated by the Venetians until the beginning of the Greek National movement of the 18th and 19th centuries. Other nations briefly occupied the Ionian islands but their physical and political connections to Venice and Italy influenced the culture of these western islands.
Kefalonia's economy relies primarily on tourism but it also produces olive oil and maintains a maritime presence. The island also grows a unique wine made from Robala grapes that can only be made on the island. A notable event for the whole Ionian islands was a horrific earthquake in 1953. Only the small town of Fiscardo was not destroyed. Over 700 people died and 100,000 of the island's 125,000 people left the island because of the widespread devastation of almost every home. The welfare stamp (left) was created to fund relief efforts; the island still experiences earthquakes because of the confluence of the European and Aegean teutonic faults.
We arrived on the island mid day and travelled by bus from the Port of Poros over the Argostoli-Poros road across mountains to our hotel in Argostoli. The map below marks Argostoli and also the Monastery of St. Gerasimos, our first destination. Early the next morning after a hotel breakfast we headed towards the town of Valsamata, close to the site. |
Hotel balcony in Argostoli, Kefalonia.
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St Gerasimos
St. Gerasimos (1506-1579) was born into an aristocratic family in the Peloponnese, became a monk at Mount Athos and spent several years in Jerusalem, Crete and Zakinthos. He came to Kefalonia in 1555 and lived in a cave. Though a secluded monastic, his mission was to care for the poor and it was at the site of the current monastery that he established a women's convent fort he purpose of dispensing charity. He lived there until his death in 1579 and is said to have performed many healing miracles. He is revered as the patron saint of the island and his full relics still lie in a silver and glass reliquary in a small older church, accessible for veneration by thousands of visitors and islanders each year. There is also a modern larger church painted with contemporary frescos in addition to the nuns' quarters and buildings, including a museum. The site is surrounded by beautiful orange trees and stunning landscaping. Panoramic movie of the monastery grounds 
Interior of the Church of St. Gerasimos with his crypt on right side. On the day we visited there was a service being held and one of the nuns opened the crypt so that we could venerate the body of the saint.
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Bell tower and gate of the Monastery of St. Gerasimos.
Frescos (modern) at the monastery church (below). |
