Galery

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The numerous churches and monasteries are another major attraction of the island. The most famous monastery honours patron Saint Gerasimos of Kefalonia. He arrived on the island in the middle of the 16th century, settled in a cave and founded the monastery that exists even today. He died on 15 August 1579 and when his coffin was opened two years later, his relics proved to be eternal. They are now kept in a glass sarcophagus in the old church of the monastery and visitors can worship them. The day of St. Gerasimos is celebrated on 16 August so as not to coincide with another major holiday, namely the Assumption, which is celebrated on 15 August. Thousands of pilgrims from all over Greece come to the monastery which required the construction of a new, bigger church, the third largest in the country after St. Andrew in Patras and Saint Panteleimon in Athens. Centuries-old sycamore trees can be seen in the area of ​​the monastery, which are marked with a white cross and it is believed that the saint himself planted them. St. Gerasimos is honoured in another way - much of the male population of Kefalonia bears his name. Locals joke that if one calls "Makis" (this is the shortened form of the name) in the central street of Argostoli, at least half of the men will turn around.

The monastery of the Virgin Mary in Markopoulo is highly revered as well. It is a nunnery and the nuns in it take care of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. According to legend, pirates surrounded the monastery and wanted to rob it. The nuns prayed to Mary and she heard their prayers. The monastery was surrounded by snakes that chased away the pirates. Since then, snakes with a small cross on their heads appear on 6 August every year, enter the church, hang on the icons and suddenly disappear on 15 August. Pilgrims are not afraid of them and touch them without fear. It is believed that something bad will happen on the island if they do not appear or if they are late in appearing. For example, in 1953 the snakes did not appear and the island was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake. Two years ago, in 2013, they appeared with a day’s delay and another earthquake rocked the island a few months later, fortunately without serious damage and casualties.

Like everywhere in Greece, food in Kefalonia is fresh and delicious. Besides fish, seafood and local types of cheese and honey, be sure to try one of the local specialties, namely kreatopita or meat pie. The filling of the pie is rice with pork. Typical for the island and very popular are mandoles - sugar-coated almonds and pastokidono - quince cake. The island has 10 wineries, Robola being the most famous of them. It is named after a unique local grape variety that cannot be eaten but it produces the most famous local brand of white wine. Venetians called it "rock wine" because the vines grow on rocks.

The biggest attraction of the island, however, is the locals. They speak with passion about the beauties of Kefalonia and about how they do not want them to change. They are satisfied with the smaller number of tourists who come to the island and with the smaller earnings from tourism, as they want the island to preserve its authentic appearance. They have no desire to make it a cosmopolitan resort as neighbouring Zakynthos, for example. Indicative is the fact that here you will not find many huge five-star hotels and those that exist are a maximum of three storeys and have no more than 100 rooms. Tourists can stay in the numerous studios in the small fishing villages. There is no active nightlife except in Argostoli. However, tourists come here to escape from the busy daily life in the city and relax close to nature.

The islanders are proud of the fact that Hollywood blockbuster ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin'' with Penelope Cruz and Nicolas Cage is dedicated to Kefalonia. The film tells the love story between a local girl and a captain of the Italian Army during World War II. Although some of the most beautiful places on the island are used as scenes in the film, including Antisamos beach near Sami port and Myrtos beach, the residents of Kefalonia do not use it to attract more tourists (unlike Skopelos that has advertised its merits by the film ''Mamma Mia'').

How to get there

Kefalonia is located between the islands of Lefkada, Ithaca and Zakynthos, and it is 800 kilometres away from Bulgaria. One way to get there is by car to the island of Lefkada and from there by ferry to Kefalonia. The journey is long but it allows you to see other beautiful places along the way. The other way is by plane from Thessaloniki, using the services of Aegean Airlines as well as low-cost Astra Airlines that fly to Kefalonia.