Metaxata
Metaxata Kefalonia
Metaxata is a pretty little traditional village located in Livatho. The village has lovely colourful gardens and a pretty village square, Metaxata is very appealing and gentle on the eye.. Views to the east give the village real grandeur, with the mighty Mount Enos standing proudly in the distance.
Only a short distance from the capital Argostoli the village is ideally located to explore the rest of the island. Lassi resort. Avithos beach and the lovely beaches surrounding the Svoronata area are all in easy reach, approximately 10 minutes away. Approximately 360 people reside in Metaxata , in the Spring and Summer months the population increases with kefalonians returning to their island and foreign visitors staying in the village.
Metaxata is an ancient settlement. In the 1930s Professor Marinatos discovered tombs from the Mycenaean era – some thousand years BC
In a later excavation numerous pieces of pottery were discovered and are now housed in the Kefalonia Archaeological museum in Argostoli.
Metaxata has it’s own important place in the history of Kefalonia, once being the seat of the Archbishopric of Kefalonia and also home to the island’s first printing press.
Lord Byron stayed in Metaxata for a few months, he wrote his epic poem, Don Juan while in Metaxata. Kefalonia was his last place of residence before he joined the resistance in Messolongi on mainland Greece. He was to loose his life fighting in the Greek War of Independence He was inspired by the islands natural beauty and the pleasantness of the locals.
His work contains many poems inspired by his love of Kefalonia.
A statue of Lord Byron stands in the central square of Metaxata. Present day Greeks still remember Byron with affection.
