Lixouri is the capital of the Palli Peninsula and the second largest city on the island. Its name, in the older form Lixourion, appears for the first time in a protest brought before the Venetian Senate in 1534. The ancient city of Palli, which took its name from Paleas or Peleas, one of the four sons of the mythical Cephalus, was near the current site to the north, in the place known today as Paliokastro.
Two destructive earthquakes, on January 23, 1867, and August 12, 1953, washed away most of Lixouri’s buildings. Now there are no old and traditional buildings, but the city is developing along the lines of modern urbanism. It lies on a fertile plain, which produces mainly gooseberries, olive oil, and peas. To the south of the city there are long sandy beaches (Lepeda, Megas Lakos, Xi) and to the north, around Kipouraii, Petani and Atheras, the wildest nature reigns.
Lixouri is an attractive town, with wide, clean streets, charming little squares and an abundance of gardens with flowers and trees. A dry river bed runs through the center of the city. Small bridges connect the two parts of the city. Churches with impressive bell towers and rich interior decoration were destroyed by earthquakes, but cross screens and icons saved from the ruins can be admired in the modern churches of St. Nicholas of the Strangers, St. Nicholas of the Miniates, the Holy Trinity, Saint Charalambos, the Pantokrator, Our Lady of Perlingades and Saint Gerassimos.
Several large public benefactors were responsible for rebuilding public buildings, schools, and other foundations after the earthquakes. Among them were Panayis Vallianos (who gave Lixouri the Technical School that bears his name), Dr. Stamos Petritsis, who rebuilt the school that bears his name and the ‘Damodos’ Municipal Library, the brothers Thanos and Evangelos Bassias, who rebuilt numerous churches, and Panayis and Antonia Manzavinatos, who rebuilt the hospital that today bears their name.
On the seafront stands a statue of the satirical poet and intellectual Andreas Laskaratos, born in Lixouri. Among other statues of famous Lixouriots are those of Elias Miniatis and Stamos Petritsis, and there are also busts of the radicals Georgios Typaldos-lakovatos, Stamatelos Pylarinos and loannis Typaldos Kapeletos Dotoratos. Vincent Damodos, Julius Typaldos and Mikelis Avlichos are among other natives of the city known throughout Greece. The city has also produced two saints: Blessed Anthimos Kourouklis and the priest Panayis Bassias (whose bones are kept in the Church of Saint Spyridon).
The Palli Band School has the second oldest band in Greece, being preceded only by the equivalent group in Corfu.
Dr. Dimitris Loukatos, Professor of Folk Art and Tradition at the Universities of Loannina and Crete, born in Kefalonia, writes in his book Christmas and Festive Customs about the songs and “praises” of some ancient singers and rhyme makers sung as carols on New Year’s Eve: Tsitselis has described this festivity in one of his articles published in 1910 in the ‘Zizanio’ newspaper; he says: We old folks remember the special singers of yore and rhyme makers who caroled all night about our Ayios-Vassilis (the equivalent of Santa Claus), with many rhymes praising the members of the family and wishing them the fulfillment. of their hopes, ending with the request for a gift (bonama, that is, good hand) be it money, rosoli (that is, liquor), sweets or singing birds.
