Patras

Patras (Modern Greek: Πάτρα, Greek pronunciation: [ˈpatra], Classical Greek and Katharevousa: Πάτραι (pl.), Greek pronunciation: [pátrai̯], Latin: Patrae (pl.)) is Greece's third largest city and the regional capital of Western Greece, in northern Peloponnese, 215 km (134 mi) west of Athens. The city is built at the foothills of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.

Patras has a population of 213,984 (in 2011). The core settlement has a history spanning four millennia; in the Roman period it had become a cosmopolitan center of the eastern Mediterranean whilst, according to Christian tradition, it was also the place of Saint Andrew's martyrdom. According to the results of 2011 census the population of the metropolitan area has a population of 260.308 and extends over an area of 738.87 km².

Dubbed as Greece's Gate to the West, Patras is a commercial hub, while its busy port is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy and the rest of Western Europe. The city has two public universities and one Technological Institute, hosting a large student population and rendering Patras a major scientific centre with a field of excellence in technological education. The Rio-Antirio bridge connects Patras' easternmost suburb of Rio to the town of Antirrio, connecting the Peloponnese peninsula with mainland Greece.

Latin Archbishopric of Patras

The Latin Archbishopric of Patras is the see of Patras in the period in which its incumbents belonged to the Latin or Western Church. This period began in 1205 with the installation in the see of a Catholic archbishop following the Fourth Crusade.

The Latin archbishop was the senior-most of the seven ecclesiastic barons of the Principality of Achaea, which comprised the entire Peloponnese. From the late 13th century, the archbishops also purchased the secular Barony of Patras from its holders, becoming the most important vassals of the entire principality.

The archbishopric survived as a Latin residential see until 1430, when the city of Patras fell to the Byzantine Greeks of the Despotate of the Morea. From 1475 on, Latin archbishops continued to be appointed, but for them the bishopric was only a titular see. It continues to be included in the Catholic Church's list of such sees, but since the Second Vatican Council no new appointments of Catholic bishops of the see have been made.

Patras Province

Patras Province was a province covering the western part of the Achaea prefecture, Greece. Its largest city and seat of administration was Patras. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipalities Patras, Erymanthos and West Achaea, and the municipal unit Erineos. It was abolished in 2006.

Subdivisions

The Patras province was subdivided into the following municipalities and communities (situation after the 1997 Kapodistrias reform):

References

Coordinates: 38°08′N 21°37′E / 38.13°N 21.62°E / 38.13; 21.62