Skopelos is one of the Sporades. They are a group of islands situated in the western Aegean Sea!
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about this island!
- Skopelos is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea
- Skopelos is one of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group
- Which lies east of the Pelion peninsula on the mainland and north of the island of Euboea
- It is part of the Thessaly region
- Skopelos is also the name of the main port and the municipal center of the island
- The other communities of the island are Glossa and Neo Klima (Elios)
- The geography of Skopelos includes two mountains over 500 m (1,640 ft)
- Delphi (681 m/2,234 ft) in the center of the island, and Palouki (546 m/1,791 ft) in the southeast
- With an area of 96 square kilometres (37 sq mi) Skopelos is slightly larger than Mykonos (85 km2/33 sq mi) and Santorini (73 km2/28 sq mi)
- The nearest inhabited islands are Skiathos to the west and Alonissos to the east
- According to the legend, Skopelos was founded by Staphylos or Staphylus (Greek for grape)
- One of the sons of the god Dionysos and the princess Ariadne of Crete
- Historically, in the Late Bronze Age the island, then known as Peparethos or Peparethus, was colonised by Cretans
- Who introduced viticulture to the island
- Perhaps because of the legend of its founding by the son of the god of wine, the island was known throughout the ancient Greek cities of the Mediterranean Sea for its wine
- The play Philoctetes (first performed at the Festival of Dionysus in 409 BC) by Sophocles includes a wine merchant lost on his way to “Peparethos, rich in grapes and wine”
- In 1936 excavations in the area of Staphylos/Velanio uncovered a royal tomb of the era of Mycenaean Greece
- The island was briefly under the control of the city-state Chalcis, Euboea since at least the 8th century BC
- Skopelos has the shape of a saxophone
- With the “neck” pointing northwest
- And the “bell” lying on the east
- There are not many bays and natural harbors, and cliffs steeply fall into the sea in the greatest part of the coast
- Mountains dominate the western and eastern parts of the island
- There are several plains, in Staphylos, Ditropon, and Panormos
- The main port of Skopelos can sometimes be closed due to northerly gales
- The smaller bays of Staphylos, Agnondas on the south coast and Panormos on the west offer better protection
- The municipality has an area of 96.299 square kilometres (37.181 square miles)
- The main port and municipal center of the island (Skopelos or Chora) is situated in the bay on the northern coast
- It is noted for its architectural heritage
- On the census of 2011, it had 3,090 inhabitants
- The second largest settlement is Glossa village
- It is situated on the northwestern tip of the island, just above Loutraki harbour, with an elevation ranging from 200 to 300 m (656 to 984 ft)
- It is 25.4 km (15.8 mi) from Skopelos town
- It is a tranquil village with traditional houses, with 993 residents
- Neo Klima or “Elios” is a purpose-built village constructed after the great 1965 earthquake to resettle the displaced residents of the severely damaged village of (Old) Klima
- It is situated by the coast on the west side of the island
- The village had 463 inhabitants in the 2001 census
- Other settlements include Stafylos, Agnondas, Panormos, Ananias, Klima, Atheato, Loutraki, Kalogiros, and Myloi
- Car ownership in Greece between 1990 and 2004 increased by 121
- Skopelos reflects this trend and the local authorities are hard pressed to deal with the increased traffic and parking issues
- Along with the resident population of cars, the burden of tourist and summer resident vehicles and the availability of rental cars and motorbikes has created problems for which solutions have not yet been found
- The construction of a large asphalt parking area along the waterfront in the late 1990s has done little to address the parking problems facing the town of Skopelos
- During the summer the population of the island increases from about 5,000 to between 15,000 and 20,000 (est. 1993)
- The island is served by commuter hydrofoils and ferryboats from the ports of Volos, Magnesia and Agios Konstantinos, Phthiotis on mainland Greece
- Which also allows connections to and from Alonissos and Skiathos
- In summer there is a ferry to and from Kymi in Euboea
- Skopelos has one main road which links the three main villages by coach several times daily
- In the mid-1980s the mayor’s council voted to apply to the Ministry of the Interior for the construction of an airport
- The application was denied
- There is a heliport in case of medical emergencies
- The length of the coastline of Skopelos is 67 km (42 mi)
- Due to the island’s mountainous terrain most of the coast is inaccessible
- The following are beaches accessible by road or trail
- Staphylos, Velanio (official nudism beach since 2011), Agnondas, Limnonari, Panormos, Adrines, Milia, Kastani, Elios, Hovolo, Armenopetra, Kalives, Glyfoneri, Glysteri, Perivoliou, Keramoto, Chondrogiorgos
- Skopelos and its neighbour Skiathos were the filming locations of the 2008 film Mamma Mia!
- The wedding procession was filmed at the Agios Ioannis Chapel near Glossa
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