History

Avlaki (Greek: Αυλάκι) beach

Avlaki Beach is located about 36 kilometres to the north-east of Corfu town, between the villages of Agios Stephanos and Kassiopi. Avlaki beach is a quiet natural setting surrounded by olive groves, close to the Eremites natural reserve and not particularly known among tourists. It is also awarded with the Blue Flag, a certificate given by the European Union to recognize the clean beaches in Europe.

Avlaki beach


Eremites natural reserve

 
Agios Stefanos (Greek: Άγιος Στέφανος) village 
Agios Stefanos is a naturally beautiful gulf with almost a circular shape.
The traditional village of St. Stefano is built now there and belongs to the old community of Sinies.
St. Stefano it is a natural fishing shelter and also can accommodate boats and sail boats.
Since it is just two kilometres from the opposite coast of Northern Epirus (modern south Albania), the surrounding hills between Avlaki  and St. Stefano are of strategic importance.

 Agios Stefanos panorama 

Kassiopi (Greek: Κασσιώπη, Κασσιόπη) village  

Kassiopi is said to have been founded during the reign of Pyrrhus of Epirus, King of Epirus in the 3rd Century BC, as a supply post during his war with Rome. After the Roman conquest of the island in 230 BC, many Emperors visited, most prominently Emperor Nero, who came to a Temple to Zeus here.Much of a small headland to the north of the resort is taken up by a Byzantine castle. The castle was subsequently fortified further by the Venetians, and survived sieges from the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century. Today the castle is mainly a ruin, but parts of the walls can be seen from the coastal road around the headland.

Many of the houses were stone-built until the 1960s, the decade that mains electricity first became available. Vehicles were introduced on the island in the 1970s, television arrived in the 1980s and the internet not until the 2000's.

Kassiopi panorama