Cephalonia in the context of "Titular see"

The Gulf of Patras (Greek: Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, Patraikós Kólpos) is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio bridge, that is the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth. On the west, it is bounded by a line from Oxeia island to Cape Araxos. To the north it is bounded by the shore of Aetolia-Acarnania in continental Greece, and to the south by Achaea in the Peloponnese peninsula. It is 40–50 km (25–31 mi) long, 10–20 km (6–12 mi) wide, and has an area of 350–400 km.

The port city of Patras lies to the southeast and is the only major port on the gulf. It serves ferries to Ancona and Brindisi in Italy and to Cephalonia. On the northern shore Missolonghi, also has a port. The old ports of Rio and Antirrio lie at the east end of the Gulf; there is a ferry service between them which complements the traffic over the Rio-Antirio bridge. The gulf is rich in fish and molluscs, including sea snails and clams.

The Ionian Islands were an overseas possession of the Republic of Venice from the mid-14th century until the late 18th century. The conquest of the islands took place gradually. The first to be acquired was Cythera and the neighboring islet of Anticythera, indirectly in 1238 and directly after 1363. In 1386 the Council of Corfu, which was the governing body of the island, voted to make Corfu a vassal of Venice. During the Venetian period the Council remained the most powerful institution on the island. A century later, Venice captured Zante in 1485, Cephalonia in 1500 and Ithaca in 1503. These three islands modelled their administration on Corfu's model and formed their own councils. The conquest was completed in 1718 with the capture of Lefkada. Each of the islands remained part of the Venetian Stato da Màr until Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the Republic of Venice in 1797. The Ionian Islands are situated in the Ionian Sea, off the west coast of Greece. Cythera, the southernmost, is just off the southern tip of the Peloponnese and Corfu, the northernmost, is located at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. It is believed that the Venetian period on the Ionian Islands was generally prosperous, especially compared with the coinciding Tourkokratia — Turkish rule over the remainder of present-day Greece.

The governor of the Ionian Islands during the Venetian period was the Provveditore generale da Mar, who resided on Corfu. Additionally, each island's authorities were divided into the Venetian and the domestic authorities. The economy of the islands was based on exporting local goods, primarily raisins, olive oil and wine, whereas Venetian lira, the currency of Venice, was also the currency of the islands. Some features of the culture of Venice were incorporated in the culture of the Ionian Islands, thus influencing to this day local music, cuisine and language.

The Diocese of Cephalonia and Zakynthos (Latin: Dioecesis Cephaloniensis et Zacynthiensis, Italian: Cefalonia e Zante) was Roman Catholic diocese located on the Ionian Island of Cephalonia. It was suppressed in 1919.

Ithaca (Greek: Ιθάκη) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of the Ionian Islands. The capital of the regional unit is the town of Vathy. The regional unit consists of the islands of Ithaca, Atokos, Arkoudi, Oxeia, Drakonera and several smaller islands, all in the Ionian Sea. It has one municipality, Ithaca. The municipality includes islets other than Ithaca including two near Cape Melissa, Arkoudi and Atokos to the northeast and the numerous islets in the Echinades Island group (the larger ones being Drakonera, Makri, Oxeia, Petalas, and Vromonas) to the east near the mainland of Aetolia-Acarnania. Its largest towns are Vathy (pop. 1,676 in 2021), Perachori (368), Stavros (327), Platreithias (221), and Kioni (131).

In 2011, as part of the Kallikratis plan, the previous prefecture of Cephalonia was divided into the regional units of Cephalonia and Ithaca.

The Echinades (/ɪˈkɪnədiːz/; Greek: αἱ Ἐχινάδες νῆσοι per Herodotus, Thucydides, and Strabo, per Homer Echinae (αἱ Ἐχῖναι νῆσοι, Italian: Curzolari) are a group of islands in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Acarnania, Greece. The archipelago is commonly subdivided into three groups: the Drakoneres in the north, the Modia in the middle and the Ouniades in the south. Administratively, the Echinades form part of two regional units: Ithaca and Cephalonia. Six of the islands, including Oxeia, one of the largest, are owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, who purchased them for a reported £7.3 million sterling. The Battle of the Echinades in 1427 and the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 were fought at or near the islands.

The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his services to William II, King of Sicily, in 1185.

Following Margaritus, the county passed on to a branch of the Orsini family until 1325, when it passed briefly to Angevins and then, from 1357, to the Tocco family. The Tocco used the county as a springboard for their acquisition of lands in the Greek mainland, and were successful in gaining control over the Despotate of Epirus in 1411. However, facing the advance of the Ottoman Turks they successively lost their mainland territories and were once again reduced to the County Palatine, which they held until 1479, when it was divided between Venice and the Ottomans. Zakynthos was put under the direct rule of Venice.

Sami (Greek: Σάμη) is a town and a municipality on the island of Cephalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It is located on the central east coast of the island. The municipality has an area of 291.2 km and the municipal unit (the pre-2010 municipality) has an area of 129.326 km². The 2021 census recorded a population of 2,478 in the municipal unit, and 5,501 in the municipality in its post-2019 extension. Its municipal seat is the town of Sami

West of town is the Melissani Cave, a major tourist attraction; boat tours are offered.

The Cephalonia Prefecture (Greek: Νομός Κεφαλληνίας) was a prefecture in Greece, containing the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Ithaca. In 2011 the prefectural self-government was abolished and the territory is now covered by the regional units of Cephalonia and Ithaca.