Velestino Βελεστίνο Velescir | |
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  Velestino | |
| Coordinates:39°22.9′N22°44.7′E / 39.3817°N 22.7450°E /39.3817; 22.7450 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Thessaly |
| Regional unit | Magnesia |
| Municipality | Rigas Feraios |
| Municipal unit | Feres |
| Elevation | 120 m (390 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 3,202 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 37 500 |
| Area code | 24250 |
Velestino (Greek:Βελεστίνο;Aromanian:Velescir) is a town in theMagnesia regional unit,Thessaly,Greece. It is the seat of the municipalityRigas Feraios.
It is situated at 120 metres (390 ft) elevation[2] on a hillside, at the southeastern end of the Thessalian Plain. It is 17 km (11 mi) west ofVolos and 40 km southeast ofLarissa. Velestino has a train station on the local line from Larissa to Volos.[3] TheA1 motorway (Athens–Thessaloniki–Evzonoi) passes east of the town. The Greek writer and revolutionaryRigas Feraios was born in Velestino in 1757.[4]
Velestino is built on the site of ancientPherae.[5] The ancient settlement is still attested in earlyByzantine times, but was apparently abandoned following theSlavic invasions of the 7th century.[6]
The current settlement appears with its current name—probably of Slavic origin[7]—for the first time in 1208, in a letter byPope Innocent III mentioning itsFrankish ruler,Berthold of Katzenelnbogen.[6] Inc. 1213 it was part of the jurisdiction of theLatin bishop ofGardiki, Bartholomew (Cardicensis episcopus et Valestinensis).[6] At about the same time, it became aGreek Orthodox episcopal see as well, being attested thereafter in episcopal lists and acts of thePatriarchate of Constantinople.[6] In 1259 an imperial estate (kouratoria) is attested in the area, as part of the province (thema) ofHalmyros; by the 1280s, Velestino itself is listed as a separatethema.[6] Very few traces remain of the medieval town today.[6]
Under theOttoman Empire, Velestino was calledVelestin orVelsin and was the seat of akaza within theSanjak of Tirhala.[8][9] With the rest of Thessaly, Velestino was ceded to Greece in 1881 by theConvention of Constantinople. TheBattle of Velestino was fought here during theGreco-Turkish War of 1897.
Velestino is a village partly populated by people ofAromanian heritage. Reportedly, as of 1911, Velestino was predominantly Aromanian.[10]
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