Alonissos Kyra Panagia Islet

The islet of Kyra Panagia close to Alonissos Greece, Sporades: The islet of Kyra Panagia, also called Pelagonisi, is found to the north east of Alonissos. It is a small, uninhabited island with two natural harbors, Agios Petros and Planitis. From the two of them, the bay of Planitis is the safest to moor your ship. This bay was used as a pirate shelter in the Middle Ages.

Archaeological findings on Kyra Panagia show that this is where the ancient Alonissos, mentioned by the orator Demosthenes and Strabo, must have been. In fact, in the bay of Agios Petros, an even older civilization has been found. This civilization dates from the Neolithic times, in about 6,000 B.C.

The excavations have revealed ceramics, small statues, tools, and animal bones. Another interesting fact is that close to this islet, a shipwreck has been found, probably an Athenian commercial ship, which carried an enormous number (about 3,000-4,000) of wine amphorae.

On the eastern side of Pelagonisi, there is the monastery of Kyra Panagia, from which the islet took its second name. This monastery is a dependency of Megisti Lavra Monastery, Mount Athos. The remains of another old basilica lie close to Kyra Panagia Monastery.