Listed 2 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for destination: "PYRGOS Town ILIA".
Pirgos is the capital of the prefecture of Ilia. The town owes its
name to the presence of a tall tower (pyrgos) erected by loannis Tsernotas (1512-20).
It was known by this name as early as 1687.
Its chief landmarks are the two exquisite neoclassical buildings designed
by Schiller, the Municipal
Market and the Apollo Municipal Theater.
In the evenings the residents of this little town congregate in the
flagstone paved main square lined by cafes and pastry shops. In the narrow alleyways,
small tavernas and grills serve up local delicacies, savory tidbits from Ilia's
fertile soil.
In 1995 the "Olympia Film Festival" started for children
and young people and it takes place every year with great success.
History
The history of the town is the "history of the raisins: itself.
"The raisin issue" was an important one for the area in the first three
decades of the country.
The port in Katakolo
has played an important role in the economic development of the town. Other factors
that contributed to that development were the construction of the railway that
connected Pyrgos with Katakolo, the extensive cultivation of vineyards and the
workers that moved to Pyrgos from Gortinia,
Zakynthos and Cephalonia.
The economic development had a positive effect in the town itself.
The town hall, the neoclassical market by Chiller, the Apollo theatre and some
neoclassical houses were built around that time.
What also contributed to the cultural development of the town were
the newspapers "Patris" (the oldest one in Greece!) and "Avgi",
the magazine "Odysseus" that presented in its pages the famous poets
Elytis, Seferis and Kavafis under the supervision of the poet Takis Sinopoulos,
the broadcasting station and the Public Library.
In the last decades the charity organizations "Agia Filothei"
and "Vasiliada" were set up, the "Latsio Dimotiko Megaro"
was built and the "Apollo" theatre was restored.
This text is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
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