Argostoli is a city of Kefalonia and the capital of the Municipality of Argostoli. It has been the capital and activity center of the island since 1757, when there was a significant movement of population from the old capital, Agios Georgios, in order to exploit the commercial potential of the area's bay.
It is also the capital of the province of Krania which includes the southern and southwestern part of the island. It is also the largest city on the island and is connected by ferry to Lixouri, which is the second largest city on the island. The bay of Argostoli that surrounds it is a particularly safe port. The city has a library rich in material, the Korgialeneio.
From around 1600 it seems that the area near Koutavos began to be settled, especially from the side that is today the area of ​​Gephyra and Sisiotissa. The solution for a new city that would have the best possible specifications, first of all that of a safe port, would emerge later, when in 1757 it was decided to move the capital from the Castle of Agios Georgios to nearby Koutavos, where there was a settlement for the most part by fishermen, a harbor of the Castle called Tener della Scala di Cefalonia.
In the past, the port of the island existed there in Koutavos, Porto de la Zephalonia or Porto de l'Arsenal, in Myxos. From 1757 onwards Argostoli began to grow gradually. When the Ionian Islands passed to the British, around 1810, Kefalonia, like the other Ionian Islands, had its own English governor. One of them was De Bosset, who did many works in Argostoli and was the creator of the bridge of Argostoli.
This bridge, approximately one kilometer long, connected Argostoli with the opposite side of the Argostoli gulf. The old town of Argostoli was much more picturesque than today since it contained many large buildings with Italian influences in their architecture. The pre-earthquake city was characterized by many imposing mansions and palaces, with Italian influences in the architecture of its houses with Renaissance and Baroque elements. Argostoli was also the second city in Greece to be electrified. One of the "mysteries" of Argostoli is the Sinkholes, a rare geological phenomenon.
One of the main attractions of Argostoli is the Lighthouse or the Lighthouse of Saints Theodore. It is located a little outside of Argostoli and is on an artificial peninsula. It is a circular building supported by twenty white Doric columns. It was built in 1928, during the era of Charles Napier. In 1964 it was rebuilt by the Kefalonian architect Takis Pavlatos, folloowing its original design to detail, after the destruction caused by the earthquakes of 1953.