Reoccupation by the Russians and the Turks intervened until finally in 1809 Kythera passed under British rule. In 1864, Kythera, with the rest of the Ionian islands, was at last united with Greece.
Chora with its Venetian castle at the peak of a steep cliff, 300 m. above the sea and the pic- turesque Kapsali below with its two coves, the one next to the other, is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Greece.
Kythera or Chora, as it is called by the islanders, is the capital of the island with its traditional houses and 40 old churches built just below the castle. The settlement with the churches makes up the so called Mesa Bourgo.
Within the castle still survive the Catholic Cathedral to the Virgin, formerly Catholic, the one to Agios Panteleimon with rare wall paintings, and Agia Triada the oldest on Kastro: there is also a part of the palace of the High Commissioner, in which the historical archives are today housed, gunpowder magazines and two well-wrought aqueducts.
At the Archaeological Museum, which contains important finds from the island, a special place is held by the marble lion which was placed above the main gate of the castle and

which is not Venetian, as was originally thought, but ancient Greek.
Kapsali is the second port on the island, 2 km. from Chora. It has a leeward sand beach and in the summer a good deal of tourist activity. High up the cliff, above Kapsali, is the small white church of Agios loannis Theologos and the cave in which it is said the saint intended to write Revelations. But the continual pirate raids forced him to leave the island and go to Patmos where he did write Revelations.

Chora -Agia Pelagia (26 km.) 4 km. Livadi. From here a road left splits off after 1.5 km. Following the right branch you arrive after 7 km. at the Monastery of Panagia Myrtidiotissa, the religious center of the island. The monastery was built in the 19th century to house the old icon of the Virgin (Panagia) that was stored in the castle at Chora.
7 km. Karvounades. A large village practically in the middle of the island. From the village of Fratsia, which is 3 km. NE, a turn-off east leads after 10.5 km. to Kastri at the site of which was the ancient town of Skandeia, the port of Palaiopoli. Before Kastri the road passes below Palaiokastro, the hill on which the Temple of Aphrodite was located. A chapel to Agios Kosmas nearby was built with stones of the ancient temple.

2 km. from the sandy shores of Kastri is the picturesque Avlai- monas, a small harbour with a Venetian fortress. 12 km. Dokana. From this village a turn-off left leads to Mylopotamos, a village of traditional architecture. West of it is the renowned Cave of Agia Sophia. It has stalactites, stalagmites, a small lake in the interior and a chapel with wall paintings at its entrance.

15 km. Aroniadika. The road right leads to the airport (5 km.), to the monastery of Agia Moni (11 km.) and the coastal settlement of Diakofti (16 km.).
19 km. Potamos. The largest settlement on Kythera after the capital. From here a road leads left, after 7 km., to the beautiful village of Kavaras with abundant greenery and 3.5 km. later the beach at Platia Ammos.
26 km. Ayia Pelagia. It is the main harbour of the island and is only 12 nautical miles from Neapoli in the Peloponnese, to which it is connected by ferry boat.

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