Position

The City of Patras is Greece's third largest city and the regional capital of Western Greece Region, in northern Peloponnese, 215 km west of the City of Athens. The city is built at the foothills of Mount Pnachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.

Patras is situated 215 km west of Athens by road, 94 km northeast of  the City of Pyrgos, 7 kilometres south of Rio , 134 km west of the City of Corinth, 77 km northwest of the City pf Kalavryta , and 144 km northwest of the City of Tripoli.

Climate

Patras has a Mediterranean climate. It features the typical mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers, with spring and autumn being pleasant transitional seasons. Autumn in Patras, however, is wetter than spring.

History - Culture

The first traces of settlement in Patras date to as early as the third millennium BC, in the area of modern Aroe. Patras flourished for the first time in the Mycenean period (1580–11). Ancient Patras was formed by the unification of three Mycenean villages. After the Dorian  invasion, a group of Achaeans from Lakonia (Sparta) led by Patreus established a colony. In antiquity Patras remained a farming city. It was in Roman times that it became an important port.

After 280 BC and prior to the Roman occupation of Greece, Patras played a significant role in the foundation of the second “Achaiki Sympoliteia” , along with the cities of Dyme, Triteia and Pharai. Later Patras has been a Christian centre since the early days of Christianity, and it is the city where St. Andrew was crucified.

In the Byzantine  era Patras continued to be an important port as well as an industrial centre. In 1205 the city was captured by Villehardouin and became a part of the Principality of Achaea. Patras became Venetian, until it was recaptured in 1430 by the Despotate of Morea  and its despot Constantine Palaiologos.

Patras remained a part of the Despotate of Morea   until 1458, when it was conquered by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire , Mehmet II. In 15th and 16th centuries by Venetians and was occupied for a period of Venetian Rule in 1687–1715.

Patras was one of the centers of Greek Revolution began in 1821, but the city was liberated on 7 October 1828 by the French expeditionary force in the Peloponnese, under the command of General Maison. Patras developed quickly into the second largest urban centre in late 19th century Greece. The city benefited from its role as the main export port for the agricultural produce of the Peloponnese. Patras was also a gateway for emigration to the USA (most notably following the “raisin crisis” of 1920 which devastated the local economy).

In the early 20th century, Patras developed fast and became the first Greek city to introduce public streetlights and electrified tramways.  The war effort necessitated by the 1st World War hampered the city's development and also created uncontrollable urban sprawl  after the influx of displaced greek persons from Asia Minor   after the 1922 war. In the 2nd World War the city was a major target of Italianair raid. In the Axis occupation period, a German military command was established and German and Italian troops stationed in the city. After the liberation in October 1944, the city grew fast to recover, but in later years was increasingly overshadowed by the urban pole of the City of Athens.

Economy

The economy of the city largely depends on a thriving service sector. Its main economic activities include retailing, logistics, financial and public sector services. Patras suffered a severe problem of deindustrialization in the late 1980s and 1990s; a number of major productive units shut down in successive order. Major businesses in Patras include:

• Tertiary education

• Banking

• Construction and real estate

• Retailing

• Tourism

The regional unit of Achaea has about 4,800 hotels rooms and , 286,000 tourists, mainly from Greece, stayed in the area for a total of 634,000 days. (Tourism info Centre http://agoraargiri.blogspot.gr/ )

• Manufacturing

• Energy

• Foodstuff

• Machinery

• Pharmaceutical

• Textiles

• Timber and paper

• Research and Technology

• Capacity building activities through best practices exchanges.

• Definition of climate baseline at municipal and regional level and future scenarios.

• Organization of thematic working tables at larger territorial scale.

• Adaptation of Act project methodology for the definition of risk and vulnerability assessment analysis framework.

• Adoption of Local Climate adaptation strategy and plans through SEAP integration.

• Setting up and testing of a climate and energy data monitoring system.

• Training session on climate and energy monitoring system open source application.

• Project Communication and raising awareness plan.

• Management & Coordination activities (Financial & Technical progress report etc.)