Aigani or Egani (; , ) is a village and Local Community () located on the northeastern border of the historical and

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 ...

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 ...

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 Greece's local government reforms of 2011 the Local Community of Aigani is located in the municipal unit of

Kato Olympos Kato Olympos (, ) is a municipal unit in the Tempi (municipality), Tempi Municipalities and communities of Greece, municipality, within the Regional units of Greece, regional unit of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa, in the historical and Administ ...

in the Tempi municipality within the Larissa Regional Unit of Thessaly. The Local Community of Aigani consists of five settlements.

Etymology

The name Aigani can be roughly translated as 'the place of goats' and comes from the or which in turn derive directly from and mean 'nanny-goat.' Goats and sheep are raised by many in the village and their meat can be found in the village's taverns alongside traditionally made

loukaniko Loukaniko (Greek: λουκάνικο) is a type of Greek sausage made from pork or lamb and typically flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and seeds, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods. They are also ofte ...

, wine, and the

tsipouro Tsipouro () is an un-aged brandy from Greece and in particular Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia. Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing 40–45% alcohol by volume and is traditionally produced from grape pomace (the residue of the winepress ...

for which the village is known.

Village of Aigani

The largest settlement in the community is the eponymous mountain village of Aigani. The village is located at an altitude of around on the southeastern face of the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

overlooking the Pineios river delta and

Thermaikos Gulf The Thermaic Gulf (, ), also called the Gulf of Thessaloniki and the Macedonian Gulf, is a gulf constituting the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. The city of Thessaloniki is at its northeastern tip, and it is bounded by Pieria Imathia and ...

. The area has been an active human settlement since at least the middle Byzantine period. The village is from the community's coastal settlements of

Nea Mesangala Nea Mesangala or Nea Mesagala (, ), often just called Mesangala, is one of two small beach settlements in the local community of Aigani in the historical and administrative region of Thessaly, Greece. Nea Mesangala has 331 inhabitants, as of 2021, ...

and

Kastri-Loutro Kastri-Loutro ( ) is one of two beach settlements in the local community of Aigani in the historical and administrative region of Thessaly, Greece. In 2021 it had 79 inhabitants. Kastri-Loutro is located in the Pineios river delta on the shores of ...

, as well as the neighboring seaside towns of

Platamon Platamon, or Platamonas (, ''Platamónas''), is a town and sea-side resort in south Pieria, Central Macedonia, Greece. Platamon has a population of about 2,000 permanent inhabitants. It is part of the Municipal unit of East Olympos of the Dio-Olym ...

a and

Neoi Poroi Neoi Poroi ( ) is a coastal village of the Dio-Olympos municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of East Olympos. The settlement of Neoi Poroi had a population of 716 inhabitants as of 2021. Neoi Poroi ...

. The cities of

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

and

Katerini Katerini (, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Regional Unit of Piera in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mount Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude ...

are roughly to the southwest and north, respectively. Prophet Elias church in Aigani

As is typical for Greek mountain villages, Aigani is densely packed with winding, narrow streets. The village is centered on a town square, or (), which has large sycamores and a fountain at its center. The square is surrounded taverns and shops, and is where many of Aigani's annual festivals and feasts take place. Aigani has sports facilities in the form of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

courts as well as a

football pitch A football pitch or soccer field is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is ty ...

which is home to the village's local football club. An outdoor theater constructed in 2016 hosts concerts and plays throughout the summer and serves as a venue for many local and regional summer festivals. Aigani has several small churches throughout the village, the largest of which is the church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary. At the village's highest peak is the church of the

Prophet Elias Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship ...

, with sweeping views of the valley below, the Olympian hills to the north, and Mount Kissavos to the south. One of the most historically important places in Aigani is the church of Saint Athanasios, which lies in a valley just north of the village. The church was built in the 14th century at the latest and is the oldest known church in all of Thessaly. Unfortunately the church is not well preserved and many of the ancient icons and paintings have disappeared or been damaged. A small road towards the top of Aigani leads south through the mountains towards a monastery devoted to Nicodemus the Agiorite and continues on to the nearby villages of Krania and

Rapsani Rapsani (Greek: Ραψάνη) is a town of the former municipal district of Kato Olympos, which is part of the municipality of Tempi in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Rapsani is sited at an altitude of 600 meters. The location of ...

Local community of Aigani

Aigani is a semi-mountainous community with an area of just that is defined by mountain, farmland, and sea. The quickly growing beach towns of

and

have 498 inhabitants and lie on the sandy beaches formed by the Pineios river delta and are renowned in Greece for their wide dunes; their warm, shallow, and calm waters; and their inexpensive beach bars, taverns, and hotels. Directly below the village of Aigani, along the A1 motorway, are the small settlements of Kato Aigani (, ) and Papapouli () which collectively have 101 inhabitants. Until the end of the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

in 1913, the northern border of Thessaly marked the end of free Greece. Aigani was therefore the final community before entering Ottoman occupied Greece and was known as a safe haven by those fleeing Ottoman persecution. A cement pillar marking this border can still be found on the hill of Prophet Elias in Aigani.

Demographics

Notes

References