Aitoliko (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Αιτωλικό) is a town and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

West Greece Western Greece Region (, ) is one of the thirteen Modern regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of Central Greece (geographic region), continental Greece and the northwestern part of the Peloponnese pen ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality

Messolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 129,305 m². It is located north of the Acheloos delta. The Greek National Road 5/ E55 passes through the municipal unit. It is located SW of Agrinion, about 20 km NW of

, W of Nafpaktos and the Rio-Antirrio bridge and SE of

Astakos Astakos (, meaning "lobster") is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xiromero, of which it is a municipal unit.

. Until it became a part of Greece, it was known as Anatoliko (Ανατολικό), meaning eastern.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Aitoliko is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): *Aitoliko (Aitoliko, Agios Nikolaos, Kefalovryso, Mesa Pigadi, Bouza, Nisaki, Poros, Chaliki) *Agios Ilias *

Stamna Stamna () is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Aitoliko in the southern part of Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece. It is located on a chain of low hills that separate the river Achelous River, Acheloos to the west from the bay of Aitoliko ...

(Stamna, Kefalovrysos, Stathmos Stamnas) *Fragkoulaiika (Fragkou, Koulaiika) *Chrysovergi (Chrysovergi, Giatsaiika)

Historical population

Aitoliko has primary schools, a high school (first three years of secondary education), a Lyceum (the second three-year period of secondary education), several churches, a small post office and a central square. The geography has rocky bushy hills to the east and farms along with some

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

and swamps as far as the Achelous to the west. The Aitoliko Lagoon is a lagoon located east of Aitoliko surrounding the main municipality and is 14 km² in area. Aitoliko was located with relation to the ancient towns of Pleuron and Oiniadai. The name of the town in the middle of the lagoon dates back to ancient times. The old part of the town lies on an island between two lagoons; the Aitoliko Lagoon, which extends up to

, lies to the north, and the Missolonghi Lagoon, which was Lake Kynia in antiquity lies to the south and connects with

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras (, ''Patraikós Kólpos'') is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio bridge, that is the entrance of the Gulf of C ...

and into the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

. The island is connected to the mainland on each side by two bridges.

The delta and the lagoons

The Achelous delta to be found west of Mesolonghi is the most extensive delta in Greece. The Mesolonghi lagoon is one of the largest lagoons of the entire Mediterranean Sea with its depth of 1.5 m. It is separated from the Gulf of Patras while its sea water is renewed from the Gulf, while the Aitolikon lagoon is a little deeper at 30 m deep. Of economic importance is the saltworks located to the east next to the old GR-5 (Agrinion - Mesolonghi) about 100 m from the sea with an area of about 500 m² and a width of about 1 km between Aitolikon and Mesolonghi. Farmlands lie to the east with hills and rocky landscape. Fishing is common in the lagoon. The lagoons are the richest waters in Greece as far as fish are concerned. Here, boats are used. In different places, wooden huts on stilts can be seen. Land development and waste management endanger the entire delta area. A large tract of land is under nature protection and hunting is banned. In this area, 170 species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

are founded. It is also home to some parasites including

isopod Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

s and sand smelts including '' Atherina boyeri''.

History

Around 900 A.D, the Byzantine fleet from Naupaktos (Lepanto) at the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

became the capital and was named Nikopolis. The new capital became secured by the fortress. One of these fortresses were favourable for defense on the island and the lagoons in Aitoliko. Since the 12th century, the island fortress of Anatoliko developed into a city. In 1406, it was sold to Carlo I Tocco of

Kefallinia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate ...

. The Venetian forces divided their incomes from the salt gardens and fishing waters of Anatoliko which lasted until 1430. During the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, in the beginning of the 19th century, Aitolikon experienced three Turkish sieges before it became a part of Greece. There were 500 Greek defenders and 15,000 Turks in the first siege. The second siege was repelled, and in the third siege, Aitolikon was re-taken by the Turks at the same time as Mesolonghi on April 11, 1826. Generals from Greece that participated included Georgios Liakatas.

Notable people

Vaso Katraki Vaso Katraki (, 5 July 1914 – 27 December 1988) was a Greek painter and engraver. She was known for her passionate depictions of the sufferings of the Greek people during and after World War II. In 1967 she was exiled to a barren island by the ...

, Engraver - Painter, 1914–1988 * Giannis Vogiatzis (b.1926), actor

References

External links

Aitoliko - National Geographic Ellas
(in Greek)
Internet Aitoliko's forum and discussion board
{{Missolonghi div Missolonghi Populated places in Aetolia-Acarnania