Lixouri is the capital of the Palli Peninsula and the second largest town on the island. Its name, in the older form Lixourion, first appears in a protest brought before the Venetian Senate in 1534. The ancient city of Palli, which took its name from Paleas or Peleas, one of the four sons of the mythical Cephalus, was near the present site to the north, on the spot known today as Paliokastro.
Two destructive earthquakes, on January 23, 1867 and on August 12, 1953, accounted for most of the buildings in Lixouri. Now there are no old and traditional buildings, but the town is developing along the lines of modern town planning. It lies in a fertile plain, which produces mainly currants, olive oil and peas. To the south of the town are long sandy beaches (Lepeda, Megas Lakos, Xi) and to the north, around Kipouraii, Petani and Atheras, wilder nature rules.
Lixouri is an attractive town, with wide, clean streets, charming little squares, and an abundance of gardens with flowers and trees. A dry river bed runs through the centre of the town. Small bridges connect the two parts of the town. Churches with impressive bell-towers and rich interior decoration were destroyed by the earthquakes, but rood-screens and icons saved from the ruins may be admired in the modern churches of St Nicholas of Strangers, St Nicholas of the Miniates, the Holy Trinity, St Charalambos, the Pantocrator, Our Lady of the Perlingades and St Gerassimos.
A number of great public benefactors were responsible for reconstructing public buildings, schools and other foundations after the earthquakes. Among these were Panayis Vallianos (who gave Lixouri the Technical School which bears his name), Dr Stamos Petritsis, who rebuilt the school named after him and the ‘Damodos’ Municipal Library, the brothers Thanos and Evangelos Bassias, who rebuilt numerous churches, and Panayis and Antonia Manzavinatos, who rebuilt the hospital which bears their name today.
On the sea-front stands a statue of the satirical poet and intellectual Andreas Laskaratos, who was born in Lixouri. Among other statues of famous Lixouriots are those of Elias Miniatis and Stamos Petritsis, and there are also busts of the Radicals Georgios Typaldos-lakovatos, Stamatelos Pylarinos and loannis Typaldos Kapeletos Dotoratos. Vincent Damodos, Julius Typaldos and Mikelis Avlichos are among other natives of the town known throughout Greece. The town has also produced two saints: the Blessed Anthimos Kourouklis and the priest Panayis Bassias (whose bones are kept in the Church of St Spyridon).
The Palli Band School has the second-oldest band in Greece, being preceded only by the equivalent group in Corfu.
Dr Dimitris Loukatos, Professor of Folk Art and Tradition at the Universities of loannina and Crete, who was born in Cephalonia, writes in his book Christmas and Festive Customs about the songs and ‘praises’ by some old-time singers and rhyme-makers sung as carols on New Year’s Eve: Tsitselis has described this festivity in one of his articles published in 1910 in the ‘Zizanio’ Diary; he says: We older folk recall the old-time special singers and rhyme-makers who would carol throughout the night about our Ayios-Vassilis (the equivalent of Santa Claus), with many rhymes praising the members of the household and wishing them the fulfillment of their hopes, ending with the request for a gift (bonama, i.e., buona mano) either in money, rosoli (i.e., liquor), sweets or singing birds.