Castellani
Agioi Deka
Kinopiastes is an officially characterised traditional settlement, 8 km south of the city of Corfu, of the county town of homonymous community, and it includes the Milia, where Ponti - Sinarades provincial road passing through there and Chrysida, Pikoulatika and Suleika. The first historical references to the existence of the settlement start the 14th century, during the period of rule of the Frankish kingdom of the Andeans, of Naples, and apparently it was formed mainly by peasants - land workers in the local fiefdoms.
The great change in the life of the inhabitants of the village begins in the last century of the long period of the Venetian occupation (1386 - 1797) when, slowly, it is possible to add a floor to the small ground-floor houses (huts) where they lived until then, next to the domestic animals they kept for their needs. The floor to which they move their wooden beds filled with wool, dry grasses (jiva) or corn leaves mattresses, take them away from hut’s very damp earthen floor and creates much better hygienic conditions, which contribute to the noticeable rise of their quality and lifespan. These new single-storey stone-built houses, between 15 and 30 sq.m. in size, were named "palaces" to reflect the major upgrade that came to their lives. Small old houses of this category are still called palaces today, most of which are now uninhabited, either due to emigration or because their owners have moved to new modern residences.
Of particular interest is the population evolution of Kinopiastes with fluctuations due to many and various factors such as war adventures, epidemics of infectious diseases, population movements, birth rates, child mortality, the economic and social situation, etc.
The modern village of Kinopiastes has its roots deep in time and has been formed on the basis of an agricultural society, with its traces evident on many levels, even today when life has become largely urbanized. It is a village full of life, with many young people and with a harmonious coexistence of the locals with the recently settled here, the immigrants and also the Europeans who have acquired their own houses in the village. Kinopiastes is a safe place for everyone, with no crime incidents. It has all the conditions for someone to live here permanently or spend their holidays quietly.
The settlement of Kinopiastes counts about 1,100 inhabitants who are mainly involved in service activities and especially in tourism. A smaller part is active in various micro-business activities and even fewer in the primary sector of economy.
The products produced in Kinopiastes are meat, cheese and dairy products, while olive oil, wine, greens, vegetables and fruit are produced in small quantities.
The company " Ktinotrofiki Linara" produces and distributes its meat, dairy and cheese products to the local market and throughout Corfu. The industry is located in Tzera Kynopiaston which can be visited. Its products are available in its own store in Vrioni, but also more widely in food stores on the island.
There are still small productions of the region's once dynamic vineyard still in the ara. The main grape varieties are: marjavi, petrocorithos, kaκotrygis, skopelitiko and strawberry.
There is the small river of Chrysida, whose waters are pumped for the water supply of the city of Corfu. Its sources are located in Chrysida, next to the church of Agia Kyriaki and its estuary in the Halikiopoulos lagoon.
There are reed beds from Chrysida to the Halikiopoulos lagoon, grava in the homonymous place, 500 m from the village as well as areas with Northern parula such as Aidonou, Lykaina and in Νungarou.
On the outskirts of the village one meets:
Birds such as hawks, owls, cuckoos, sparrows, terns, magpies, magpies, buzzards, etc.
Reptiles such as various types of snakes (tree snakes, rattlesnakes, vipers, water snakes, etc.), lizards (mosterus, mosterices, skudziki - laudacia stelio etc.).
Ferrets, weasels, petons (mouse squirrels or myox), hedgehogs, moles, rarely foxes and in the wet parts of Chrysida, myocastors and frogs.
The vegetation in the Kynopiaston area is rich and includes many species of native flowers, plants, shrubs and trees. More specifically, in the nature of the area one can find wild cyclamen, daisies, milk thistles, campanula, Bermuda buttercup, cheeses, wild greens (sowthistle, zeguns, dandelion, etc), tamarisk, rushes, nutsedges, bulrush, alexanders, cardamom, common purslane, mushrooms, chamomile, oregano, brambles and blackberries, nettles, sparta, figs, berries, pomegranates, pears, apples and quinces, apricots, cherry plums, vanilla orchids, wild strawberries, kermes oaks, oaks, poplars, hackberries, Judas trees, elms, myrtles, laurels, olives, cypresses, etc.
In the area of Kynopiaston there are the following churches: Y.Th. Eleousas from the 13th century, Agios Ioannis Prodromos from the 15th century, Agios Nikolaos and Agios Dimitrios from the 16th century, Agios Spyridon from the 17th century and the monastery of Agia Paraskevi from the 16th century.
Three festivals are held every year in Kinopiastes.
The first is on August 15th, the feast of the Assumption Day of Mary, following the great litany of the icon and its epitaph.
The second is on June 23rd and 24th the feast of the Nativity of Agios Ioannis Prodromos. On the eve of the celebration (23/6) the ancient custom with the fires - lanterns of Agios Ioannis is celebrated.
The third, the smallest, takes place on July 13rd the feast of the miracle of Agios Spyridon.
The water in the aqueduct to which all the houses in the village are connected, comes from a borehole at Voutes, on the northern outskirts of the settlement. In 10 communal taps of the village, drinking water is available, of very good quality, which comes from a natural spring on the slope of the mountain of Agioi Deka. Water comes to the village with a natural flow network, built in 1927.
Of historical interest is the protection icon (fresco) of Panagia - Heavenly Gate, in the church of Y.Th. Eleousas. The icon has evidences of destruction and shootings done by the Ottomans during the sieges of 1537 and 1716.
On the main street of the village, just before the main square, there is an old olive mill from the 19th century which was donated by tDonatos Paipetis family in 1999 and since 2001 it has been turned into the "Donatos Paipetis" Olive Museum.
In the Sochoro location, there is an ancient olive tree, with a base perimeter of 13.70 meters. Its age is estimated to exceed 1500 years and it is a monument of nature.
Kinopiastes was visited in 1858 by the delegated of the British Government and later four times prime minister, William Gladstone, to ascertain the climate on the island in view of the request for Union with Greece.
In 1861 the famous English painter and traveller Edward Lear visited Kinopiastes and painted three of his paintings.
In 1988, the President of France, François Mitterrand, visited Kinopiastes.
The brothers Grigoris (1909) and Costas Dafnis (1911) were born in Kinopiastes, who worked in journalism and history.
Historical books by the former have received nationwide recognition and hold an important position in Greek historiography.
The second one dealt more with Corfu history and ended up with a rich work valuable for the scholars of local history.
Both were arrested and exiled by the Italian occupation authorities of the island, in the period 1941-43.
In 1909, the demonic local businessman Andreas Paipetis was elected Mayor of Mesohoriton Corfu, while his son Spyros Paipetis was elected 6 times as a member of the Greek Parliament during the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 20th century.
Narratives of grandmothers about the difficult and often adventurous for the provision of water, before the first aqueduct was created in the village in 1927. Meetings at the well for the day's water were an occasion for exchanging information, observations, criticism, gossip but also discussions about everything that concerned the small local community. These gatherings also provided an opportunity for the musical performance of folk couplets or narrative songs, which were particularly popular.
Especial are the customs of the carnival, with the disguises, the teasing, the bluntness and the mock or narrative singing dances (paraloges), such as Gazianakis, a song that is an excerpt from the well-known and famous Byzantine poem-song "Liogenniti», by 11th century.
The main dishes of the local cuisine include legumes, vegetables, greens, fish and meat with various recipes. Special dishes are cod with garlic, egg-lemon soup with chicken or beef, pastitsada, and cooked burdeto or bianco fish.
As a culinary specialty can be considered the eel grilled, the boiled,baked or fried patatones (sweet potatoes) and the poor riganata.
Various artistic groups are active in Kinopiastes. The biggest activity has the Philharmonic of the village, which was founded in 1966 and has around 100 musicians. The Children's Choir of the Parish, the Polyphonic Dance Group “Gitonia” and the Amateur Drama Group of Young people in Kinopiastes are also active.
Concerts, music and dance performances, theatrical performances, folk events, such as the lanterns of Ai Giannis, Klidonas, Halloween, festivals, etc. are held in the village.
