Tsaritsani (Greek: Τσαριτσάνη[t͡saɾiˈt͡sani]) or Tsiaritsiani (local Greek: Τσιαρίτσιανη[t͡ʃaˈɾit͡ʃani]) is a village and a community of the Elassona municipality.[2] Before the 2011 local government reform, it was an independent community. The 2011 census recorded 2,040 inhabitants in the village.[1] The community of Tsaritsani covers an area of 57.791 km2.[3]
Population
According to the 2011 census, the population of the settlement of Tsaritsani was 2,040 people, a decrease of almost 12% compared with the population of the previous census of 2001.[1][3]
Tsaritsani lies in the northwestern part of Larissa regional unit, 40 km from Larissa, at the foot of Mount Olympus. It has a land area of 57.791 km². Its geography includes farmlands in the valley areas, the mountains are around the area as well as grasslands, ledges are to be founded in some areas and barren area in the higher elevations.
The name of Tsaritsani is of Slavic origin, most likely from Tsar or Tsaritsa.[4] The history of Tsaritsani starts with the Slavic settlement of Greece in the seventh century AD.[5] The settlement is recorded as village and with two names first as "Kiliseli" and as "Çerniçani" in the Ottoman Tahrir Defter number 101 dating to 1521.[6] The village participated in the Greek War of Independence and offered fighters to the Sacred Band.[5]
The first guerilla groups of the Greek People's Liberation Army in the area were created from residents of Tsaritsani.[7] The village is the ancestral home of popular wartime singer Sofia Vembo. The village witnessed mass execution of its people twice, on 12 March 1943 and on 20 August 1944 by the Italian and German occupation forces respectively.[8] As a result, Tsaritsani is a stronghold of the left.
