Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...

. It is part of the

geographic region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Central Greece and the

administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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 ...

. A combination of the historical regions of

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

and

Acarnania Acarnania () is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part ...

, it is the country's largest regional unit. Its capital is

Missolonghi 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 ...

for historical reasons, with its biggest city and economic centre at

Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 89,691 inhabitants (2021) as well as the seco ...

. The area is now connected with the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

peninsula via the Rio-Antirio Bridge. The surrounding regional units take in Arta in

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, a narrow length bordering

Karditsa Karditsa ( ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of the region of Thessaly. Climate Karditsa has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: '' ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

Evrytania Evrytania ( ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is ...

to the northeast, and

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

to the east.

Geography

Mountains dominate the north, northeast, west and southeast, especially the

Acarnanian Mountains The Acarnanian Mountains (, ''Akarnanika ori'') is a mountain range in the northwestern part of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit in western Greece. It stretches from the village Monastiraki, near Vonitsa, in the north to Astakos in the south, ...

. The longest and main river is the Acheloos, which ends as a delta in wetlands to the southwest on a rich fertile valley. The second longest is

Evinos Evinos () is a river in western Greece, flowing into the Gulf of Patras. Its source is in the northern Vardousia mountains, near the village Artotina, Phocis. The river flows in a generally southwestern direction, for most of its length in Aet ...

; others include the Ermitsa, the Inachos, and the

Mornos The Mornos () is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Mornos Reservoir nea ...

(on the border with Phocis). The regional unit excludes the islands lying to its west, since they belong to the

Kefalonia 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 regio ...

and

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

regional units. There is one reservoir and a lake in its central part. The many mountains of the area span the

Panaitoliko Panaitoliko ( Greek: Παναιτωλικό) is a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Lat ...

toward the northeast and the

, the Valtos and the

Makrynoros Makrynoros () is a forested mountain range dominating the northern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in western Greece. Its highest elevation is about 900 m. Its length is approximately 25 to 30 km from north to south and its width is approximately ...

mountains in the north, the Nafpaktia Mountains in the southeast, the

Arakynthos Arakynthos (Greek: Αράκυνθος) is a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: '' ...

and Kravara in the south. Lakes include the Amvrakia, the

Lysimachia ''Lysimachia'' ( ) is a genus consisting of 182 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family w ...

, Ozeros, and Trichonida, and artificial lakes and reservoirs include Kastraki, Kremasta, the largest lake in Greece since its creation in 1970, and Stratos. Two lagoons are found in the southern part of the regional unit: the

Messolongi 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 ...

and the

Aitoliko Aitoliko (Greek: Αιτωλικό) 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 Messolonghi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal uni ...

. The lowest altitude in Greece is found in west Aetolia-Acarnania at about -10 meters from the sea level.

Climate

Its climate ranges from hot and humid summers, with temperatures often surpassing 40 °C, to mild and short winters in the low-lying areas, with cool winters dominating in the mountain areas. At the highest elevations, summers are cool, and snow and cold weather dominate the winter months in the Panaitoliko.

History

Ancient era

Byzantine era

Ottoman era

During the

Ottoman period The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an 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 Central Euro ...

, between the 16th century until 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 ...

, the region was called

Karleli Karli-Eli (, ), also Karli-Ili or Karlo-Ili, was an Ottoman province () in the region of Aetolia-Acarnania in Western Greece from the late 15th century until the Greek War of Independence. The name, meaning "Land of Charles" in Turkish, derived ...

and formed a province (''

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

'') in the

Rumelia Eyalet The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia (), known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591, was a first-level province ('' beylerbeylik'' or ''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans ("Rumelia"). For most of its history ...

Modern Aetolia-Acarnania

Aetolia and Acarnania became a prefecture and merged to form Aetolia-Acarnania after the

in the late-1820s; the prefecture included

at the time, and it ranked second largest in Greece. Evrytania separated from the prefecture in 1948. In the 20th century, ferry services between

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

and the

began. and in the 1950s and the 1960s ferry services began to incorporate vehicles. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

a number of buildings needed to be repaired. A drawbridge linking the island of Lefkada was built in the 1960s. The prefecture's first reservoir, created by the Acheloos Dam over the Acheloos, was under construction in 1967 and completed in the early 1970s, delivering water and hydropower to western part of Greece. Villages were relocated at the time. Two more dams were added, the Stratos Hydroelectric Dam in the 1980s and another in the late 1980s.

Transportation

The following years, GR-5 bypassed Messolonghi and Agrinion and GR-38 became connected with paved road with Eurytania and Phthiotida. In the late-1980s, the by-pass of Naupaktos began construction but after paving the road, the signs did not appear and until 1998, it was left unopened. In 1999, the road was re-repaired and finally opened to traffic. In 2000, the construction of the Rio-Antirio or the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge connecting the Peloponnese began construction and was opened to traffic in August 2004. The superhighway, the

Ionia Odos The A5 motorway, also known as the Ionia Odos (),
(FEK AAP' 253/21.12.2015, pp. 2098–2099). i ...

(Ionian Motorway) which will run centrally bypassing communities began construction in 2001 at a part between Messolonghi and the curve, this section remains to be unpaved, the rest of the highway is in plan but the opening date is not yet set. A railway formerly served the places from Kryoneri and

and served with the ferry with

. In the 1980s, the service came to an end. *

Greek National Road 5 National Road 5 (, abbreviated as EO5) is a single carriageway road in western Greece. It connects Antirrio, at the north end of the Rio-Antirrio bridge, with Ioannina in northwestern Greece, passing through Agrinio and Arta. The southern part, ...

/ E55, SE, S, Cen., N *

Greek National Road 38 National Road 38 (, abbreviated as EO38) is a single carriageway road in western and central Greece. It connects Thermo with Lamia, via Agrinio and Karpenisi. It passes through the regional units Aetolia-Acarnania, Evrytania and Phthiotis. One ...

, Cen., NE *

Greek National Road 42 National Road 42 () is a highway in northwestern Aetolia-Acarnania and in Lefkada, Greece. It links the town of Lefkada with the Greek National Road 5 (Antirrio - Arta - Ioannina) in Amfilochia, passing through the town of Vonitsa. The eastern ...

, N, NW *

Greek National Road 48 National Road 48 (, abbreviated as EO48) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 5 at Antirrio with the town Livadeia, passing through Naupactus and Delphi. The section between Antirrio and Itea is ...

/ E65, SE *Road linking Agios Nikolaos, Astakos and Aitolikon, NW, W, SW, S

Population history

Administration

The regional unit Aetolia-Acarnania is subdivided into 7 municipalities. These are (number in parentheses corresponds to number in the infobox's map): *

(2) *

Aktio-Vonitsa Aktio–Vonitsa () is a municipality in the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of the West Greece region of Greece. Its seat is the town of Vonitsa Vonitsa () is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipali ...

(3) *

Amfilochia Amfilochia () is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, on the site of ancient Amfilochia. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Karvasaras (Καρβασαράς; from ''caravanserai''). Amfilochia ...

(4) *

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 ...

(1) *

Nafpaktia Nafpaktia (), Latinized Naupactia, is the historical name for the region around the port town of Nafpaktos (Naupactus) in Central Greece. It is also the name of a municipality in the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, West Greece region, Greece. ...

(6) * Thermo (5) *

Xiromero Xiromero () is a municipality in the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, West Greece region, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Astakos. Its borders do not coincide with the historical region of Xiromero, which extends to parts of the t ...

(7)

Prefecture

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Aetolia-Acarnania was created out of the former

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Aetolia-Acarnania (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

*Province of

- Messolonghi/Messolongi *Province of

- Nafpaktos *Province of Trichonida - Agrinio *Province of Valtos - Amfilochia *Province of

Vonitsa Vonitsa () is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is dominated by a Venetian fortress on a hill. Von ...

- Vonitsa ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

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 ...

People

Stratos Apostolakis Stratos Apostolakis (; born 17 May 1964), nicknamed The Turbo, is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender or a defensive midfielder. Career Apostolakis was no stranger to controversy as a player, his switch from Olym ...

- footballer *

Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas Georgios Athanasiadis–Novas (; 9 February 1893 – 10 August 1987) was a Greek poet, lawyer and politician who briefly served as Prime Minister in 1965. Biography George Athanasiadis-Novas, also known by his literary name Athanas, was born i ...

- a former Greek

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Filipos Darlas Filippos Darlas (; born 23 October 1983) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Apollon Dokimiou. Club career Superleague Greece Born in Kenourgio, Greece, Darlas began his professional career 1999 in Panetolikos. In ...

, footballer * Ioannis Kalogeras * Christos Kapralos, writer *

Pantelis Karasevdas Pantelis Karasevdas (; 1877 – 14 March 1946) was a Greek sport shooter. He was a member of Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos, that merged in 1923 with Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron to become Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi. Karasevdas competed at the ...

*Aristovoulos Kois, a former Greek Military Officer * Aristidis Moschos, musician *

Thodoros Papadimitriou Theodoros Papadimitriou (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαδημητρίου; 1931 – 8 June 2018), also known simply as Theodoros (Θόδωρος), was a Greece, Greek sculptor who achieved international recognition. Biography He was born in Ag ...

, sculptor *

Pythagoras Papastamatiou Pythagoras Papastamatiou (; 12 April 1930 – 12 November 1979), mainly known by the mononym Pythagoras, was a Greek lyricist and playwright. Biography He was born in 1930 in Agrinio where he lived until he became 18 years old. His family was de ...

, director, songwrite *

Evangelos Papastratos Evangelos Papastratos (, 1910 – 1998) was a Greek businessman born in the city of Agrinio in Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece. Although the youngest of his brothers, he was the first in his family to become involved with the tobacco trade. Along with ...

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis (; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of confidence in the Greek constitution, p ...

- a former Greek Prime Minister *

Spyridon Trikoupis Spiridon Trikoupis (; 20 April 1788 – 24 February 1873) was a Greek statesman, diplomat, author and orator. He was the first Prime Minister of Greece (1833) and a member of provisional governments of Greece since 1826. Early life He was bor ...

- a former Greek Prime Minister *

Dimitrios Valvis Dimitrios Valvis (; 1808 or 1814 Zinovios Valvis Zinovios Zafirios I. Valvis (; 1800 – 25 August 1886) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece. Valvis was born in 1800 in Missolonghi. He first studied theology at the Theological School of Halki but switched to law, furthering h ...

- a former Greek Prime Minister *

Yannis Yfantis Yannis Yfantis is a Greek poet who is awarded with the Cavafy Award. He was born in 1949 in Raina near Agrinio in Aetolia-Acarnania. He was presented to the Thessaloniki Public Broadcasting with ''Elliniki kai pagkosmia poiisi'' (''Ελληνι ...

- poet

Communications

Radio

* Agrinio 93.7 FM * Dytika FM * Stereo Channel * Akarnania Radio

Television

* Acheloos TV - Agrinion *Lychnos, UHF channel 32 (religious), broadcasting from Nafpaktos * Lepanto Tv - Nafpaktos * Ν TV - Agrinion

Newspapers

*
29Dytika
' *''

Akarnania Acarnania () is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part ...

'' *'' En Bambini'' - Bambini *
Nea Epohi
' *'' Vela''

Sporting teams

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

Agrinion Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 89,691 inhabitants (2021) as well as the seco ...

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

Nafpaktiakos Asteras F.C. Nafpaktiakos Asteras () is a Greek football club based in the town of Nafpaktos, Greece. History It was formed by the conjunction of two former clubs of the city: Nafpaktiakos and Asteras Nafpaktou, in 1958. The club's (full name: "Papacharalambe ...

Nafpaktos Nafpaktos () or Naupactus, is a town and a former municipality in Nafpaktia, Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos. It is named for Naupaktos (, Latini ...

, Local Championship * AE Messologiou - Mesologgi, fourth division * Thyella Paravolas -

Paravola Paravola (Greek: Παραβόλα) is a village and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; ...

, Local Championship * Amfilochos -

, Fourth Division *

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

- Etoliko, Local Championship * Doxa Kainougriou - Kainourgio, Local Championship

References

External links

Etoloakarnania's News PortalStructurae on AitoloakarnaniaSociety of Agrinio’s Youth and Students in AthensKatafigio Nafpaktias(Mountainous Nafpaktia)Katafygion Nafpaktias
{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1833 establishments in Greece Regional units of Western Greece

Geography

Climate

History

Ancient era

Byzantine era

Ottoman era

Modern Aetolia-Acarnania

Transportation

Population history

Administration

Prefecture

Provinces

People

Communications

Radio

Television

Newspapers

Sporting teams

See also

References

External links