Rio ( el, Ρίο, ''Río'', formerly , ''Rhíon'';

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

: ''Rhium'') is a town in the suburbs of Patras 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 ...

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...

West Greece Western Greece Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Ελλάδας, translit=Periféria Dhitikís Elládhas, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the north ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Patras, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 98.983 km². The municipal unit had a population of 14,622 in 2011. The campus of the University of Patras and the Casino Rio is located in Rio.

Geography

Rion is the northernmost municipal unit of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...

peninsula. It stretches along the southeastern coast of the

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras ( el, Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, ''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, th ...

, about 7 km northeast of Patras city centre. The nearby Strait of Rio, crossed by the Rio–Antirrio bridge, separates the Gulf of Patras from the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Ist ...

to the east. The town is dominated by the Panachaiko mountain to the southeast.

Town layout

The town centre is also known as ''Agios Georgios Riou''. This is where the Rio railway station, on the line from Patras to Corinth, is located. The quarter Kastellokampos lies to the southwest of the centre. The ferry terminals, with services to Antirrio, are in the north, on both sides of the Rio–Antirrio bridge. There is a large fortress with bastions next to the bridge. The campus of the University of Patras and the hospital lie in the southeast, across the Greek National Road 8A. There are sandy beaches along the coast, and a port north of town centre.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Rio is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): * Agios Vasileios * Aktaio *

Ano Kastritsi Ano Kastritsi ( el, Άνω Καστρίτσι) is a village in the municipal unit of Rio, Achaea, Greece. It is situated at about 500 m elevation in the forested northwestern foothills of the Panachaiko The Panachaiko ( el, Παναχαϊκό, ...

Arachovitika Arachovitika ( el, Αραχωβίτικα) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Rio in the northern part of Achaea, Greece. It is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, 1 km northwest of Drepano and 6 km northeast of Rio. The Greek Nat ...

(Arachovitika, Kato Arachovitika) *

Argyra ''Argyra'' is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. The name "''Argyra''" comes from the Greek word for "silver". Species *'' Argyra albicans'' Loew, 1861 *'' Argyra albicoxa'' Van Duzee, 1925 *'' Argyra albiventris'' Loew, 1864 ...

* Drepano *

Kato Kastritsi Kato Kastritsi ( el, Κάτω Καστρίτσι) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Rio, Achaea, Greece. The community consists of the villages Kato Kastritsi and Magoula. It is situated at about 100 m elevation in the northwe ...

(Kato Kastritsi, Magoula) *

Pititsa Pititsa ( el, Πιτίτσα) is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Rio, Achaea, Greece. It is situated in the northern foothills of the Panachaiko, at about 700 m elevation. It is 2 km southeast of Sella and 11 km east of Rio. In 2011, ...

* Platani *

Psathopyrgos Psathopyrgos ( Greek: Ψαθόπυργος) is a tourist village and community in the municipal unit of Rio in the northern part of Achaea, Greece. Psathopyrgos is located on the Gulf of Corinth, south east of Cape Drepano, the northernmost point ...

(Psathopyrgos, Kato Rodini) *Rio * Sella

History

The name ''Rio'' (and its older form ''Rhion'') derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

(''rhion''), generally meaning "jutting part", perhaps from (''rhis''), meaning "nose", but also "spur of land". The earliest attested form of the word is the

Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC), before the hypothesised Dorian invasion, often cited as the '' terminus ad quem'' for the ...

, ''ri-jo'', written in Linear B syllabic script. The site of Rio has been a strategic point since antiquity. Early 19th century, there stood an old Turkish castle (the " Castle of the Morea") at the cape, with a small settlement outside its walls.

Government

The mayors of the municipality were: * Vasileios Zervas (1998–2006) * Christos Liakopoulos (2006–2010)

Population

Gallery

View of panagopoulou road and mountains, Rio, Greece.jpg, Neighborhood and Panachaiko mountain Rio train station, Achaia.JPG, Train station University of Patras Hospital and department of medicine.jpg, Hospital and bridge Library (BYP) - University of Patras.JPG, University library FestungRio.jpg, Castle University cemetery in Rio, Greece.jpg, Cemetery

References

External links

Municipality of Rio

GTP - RioGTP - Municipality of RioGTP - Ancient Rhium
{{Rio, Greece Populated places in Achaea Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece