Kastos () is a
Greek island and a former
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
east of the island of
Lefkada
Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...
,
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...
,
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
Lefkada
Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...
, of which it is a municipal unit.
Until 1974, when it became part of the
Lefkada Prefecture, the island was administered under the
Cephalonia Prefecture (
Ithaca province).
EETAA local government changes
/ref> The nearest island is Kalamos, with a deep channel between them; the mainland is approximately to the northeast in 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, ...
.
Geography
The island has only one village, the homonymous Kastos, located on its east coast. It has a population of about 40, involved mainly in tourism services, as well as fishing. During the summer Kastioti of the diaspora return for holidays and together with the fluctuating visitors arriving on yachts, form its seasonal character. The island is long from north to south, and 800 m wide. The area is Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
level.
Kastos has two churches, Agios Ioannis Prodromos, which is located in the centre of the village, and Agios Emilianos, located about northeastern of the village. Agios Ioannis church is decorated with wall paintings from the notable Eptanesian painter Spyridon Gazis.
Also, the island has two windmills and three olive presses, none of them functioning anymore.
Population
Facilities
The island has a range of facilities such as a mini-market, three bars, four restaurants and a small gift shop.
All facilities are open during the summer, however most close during the winter months of the island. The island has two harbours for boat mooring, one located on the front of the island, the other located at the back, in a bay called Sarakiniko.
See also
* List of settlements in the Lefkada regional unit
References
{{Lefkada div
Islands of Greece
Islands of the Ionian Islands (region)
Populated places in Lefkada (regional unit)
Landforms of Lefkada (regional unit)