Othonoi

Othonoi Οθωνοί
Othonoi
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 39°51′N 19°22′E / 39.850°N 19.367°ECoordinates: 39°51′N 19°22′E / 39.850°N 19.367°E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Ionian Islands
Regional unit	Corfu
Municipality	Corfu
• Municipal unit	10.078 km^2 (3.891 sq mi)
Highest elevation	393 m (1,289 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• Municipal unit	392
• Municipal unit density	39/km^2 (100/sq mi)
Community
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	491 00
Area code(s)	26630
Vehicle registration	ΚΥ
Website

Othonoi (Greek: Οθωνοί, Italian: Fanò) is an island and a former community of the Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Corfu, of which it is a municipal unit.^[2] It is the westernmost point of Greece, located northwest of Corfu. Population 392 (2011). In the 19th century the island used to be the capital of the Diapontia Islands municipality, which also included nearby islands of Ereikoussa and Mathraki. Most of the island's inhabitants can trace their origins to Paxi island, south of Corfu, as people from Paxi were settled in the island beginning in the 1570s by the Venetian Republic. A cave, near the Aspri Ammos (White Sand) beach, is traditionally believed to have been the place where Calypso kept Odysseus captive.

History

Othonoi is mentioned from antiquity under the name Othronos. The current name is a corruption of the ancient name. The ancient Greeks also believed that Othonoi was the legendary island of Calypso.^[3] A big sea cave of the island is today called Calypso's cave. During the medieval period the island may have been depopulated. During the Battle of Lepanto no resident were mentioned on the island.^[4] Later, people from Epirus settled on the island and from there some of them settled on the other Diapontia Islands, Ereikoussa and Mathraki. The island became part of Greece in 1864, after the concession of the Ionian Islands.

Historical population

Year	Population
1991	98
2001	663
2011	392

References

1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
2. Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek)
3. "Diapontia Islands". goingreece.gr. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
4. "Το τρίγωνο του αγγέλου". enet.gr. Retrieved 21 June 2015.