Katakolo is a seaside town in western Ilia in the municipality of Pyrgos

Pyrgos, Elis

Pyrgos is the capital of the Elis peripheral unit in Greece. It is named after a local tower. The city is located in the western part of the Peloponnese, in the middle of a plain near the Ionian Sea. It is 96 km away from Patras via Greek National Road 9, 320 km from Athens, and...

. It is located south of Patras

Patras

Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...

 and Dounaiika, 12 km off downtown Pyrgos, west of Olympia

Olympia, Greece

Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...

 and northwest of Messenia

Messenia

Messenia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, one of 13 regions into which Greece has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, implemented 1 January 2011...

. The town centre is on a headland

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

 overlooking the Ionian Sea

Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

 and separating the Kyparissian Gulf from the rest of the Ionian.

Historical population

Year	Population of Katakolo
1991	594
2001	601

About Katakolo

It has a small port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 which is the main port of Pyrgos, a school, restaurants, a church and a town square. Most impressive is surely the visit to the Municipal Museum of Ancient Greek Technology

Museum of Ancient Greek Technology

The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is a museum in Katakolo, Ilia Prefecture in Greece. It was founded by Kostas Kotsanas and holds 200 operating reconstructions of mechanisms and inventions of the ancient Greeks covering the period from 2200 BC to 100 AD....

 which holds 150 operating reconstructions of mechanisms and inventions of the ancient Greeks covering the period from 2000 B.C. to 100 A.D. A railway called the Katakolo-Pyrgos line goes to Katakolo. Small hills with forests surround Katakolo. Katakolo is situated on a peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 and has a lighthouse founded southwest. The Lighthouse Katakolo (Faros Katakolo) was first opened in 1865. The port is also a frequent stop for cruise ships on tours of the Ionian and Mediterranean seas, offering an opportunity for passengers to visit the site of Ancient Olympia. Consequently, many of the shops in the town centre are geared toward foreign tourists. The other main industries includes agriculture and services.

Several buildings were rebuilt after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the Greek Civil War

Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

.

Katakolo has a small school, churches, a square(plateia

Plateia

Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...

) and a Port where cruise ships come for tourists to see Olympia.

Museums

• Museum of Ancient Greek Technology
  Museum of Ancient Greek Technology
  The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is a museum in Katakolo, Ilia Prefecture in Greece. It was founded by Kostas Kotsanas and holds 200 operating reconstructions of mechanisms and inventions of the ancient Greeks covering the period from 2200 BC to 100 AD....
  
   by Kostas Kotsanas, in Katakolo
• Museum of the Ancient Greek Musical Instruments by Kostas Kotsanas, in Katakolo