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Greece Greece

Administrative Region : Ionian Islands
Regional unit : Kefalonia

Tzanata (Greek: Τζανάτα) is a village in the Eleios-Pronnoi municipal unit in the southeast of Kefalonia, one of the Ionian Islands of Greece. It sits at the junction of the roads to Argostoli (36 km W), Sami (25 km N) and Poros (4 km E).

Along with the neighbouring villages of Agia Eirini and Kabitsata, it is situated in a fertile plain between the hill villages of Agios Giorgios and Pastra (W), Agios Nikolaos (N) and the port of Poros (E).

The village has a small school, community centre and community clinic; a sports stadium to serve the local area is slowly being completed. A mineral water spring (vrysi) fed from the ‘bottomless’ Avithos lake at Agios Nikolaos feeds a fountain in the plane tree sheltered plateia (square) where the village festivals, served by souvlaki stalls and the adjacent taverna, are held in the summer months. Water from the surrounding mountains also feeds two reservoirs just outside the village, one completed in 2005 to feed the burgeoning summer demands of nearby Skala.

In 1991 archaeologist Lazaros Kolonas, excavating in the Broutzi area of Tzanata, discovered a tholos (beehive) tomb from the Mycenaean period measuring 6.80 meters in diameter. Despite a claim that it's the burial place of Odysseus it is generally believed to be the tomb of later royalty, circa 1400 BC. Nevertheless, it is the most important historical find on Kefalonia (or Ithaca) to date. The site is signposted from the Tzanata-Poros road.

As the road to Poros enters the impressive Poros gorge there is a rough vehicular track leading 4.5 km up to the oldest monastery, and oldest surviving building, on Kefalonia, the Atros Monastery.

Transport

Served by the fairly reliable, but infrequent, Argostoli – Poros bus.

Car and motorcycle/scooter hire available in Poros
Nearest places

Agia Eirini and Kabisata, west
Poros, east

Population
Year Population
1991 193
2001 174

Municipal unit Eleios-Pronnoi
Municipal Community Poros
Asprogerakas (Ασπρογέρακας ο)
Kampitsata (Καμπιτσάτα τα)
Moni Yperageias Theotokou Atrou (Μονή Υπεραγίας Θεοτόκου Άτρου η)
Poros (Πόρος ο)
Riza (Ρίζα η)
Tzanata (Τζανάτα τα)
Community Agia Eirini
Agia Eirini (Αγία Ειρήνη η)
Community Agios Nikolaos
Agios Nikolaos (Άγιος Νικόλαος ο)
Community Arginia
Arginia (Αργίνια τα)
Community Valerianos
Atsoupades (Ατσουπάδες)
Valerianos (Βαλεριάνος ο)
Plateies (Πλατείαι αι)
Community Markopoulo
Kateleios (Κατελειός ο)
Kato Kateleios (Κάτω Κατελειός ο)
Markopoulo (Μαρκόπουλον το)
Community Mavrata
Mavrata (Μαυράτα τα)
Community Xenopoulo
Andriolata (Ανδριολάτα τα)
Kapandriti (Καπανδρίτιον το)
Xenopoulo (Ξενόπουλον το)
Community Pastra
Kremmydi (Κρεμμύδιον το)
Pastra (Πάστρα η)
Community Skala
Aleimmatas (Αλειμματάς ο)
Ratzakli (Ρατζακλίον το)
Skala (Σκάλα η)
Fanies (Φανιές οι)
Community Chionata
Thiramonas (Θηράμονας ο)
Kolaitis (Κολαίτης ο)
Chionata (Χιονάτα τα)