Fisini

Fisini is a traditional settlement in southeastern Lemnos. Its name appears in 19th-century documents in various forms—Visin, Fsin, or Psin—while its inhabitants were called Sfnades. Gradually, the feminine form Fisini prevailed, which in local interpretation is linked to the verb physo (to blow), as the area is known for the strong winds and windstorms that sweep it. Near the village stand the ruins of the medieval stronghold of Skala, known as “Pyrgoi.” Since 1918, Agia Sophia has been a permanent settlement of the Fisini community, along with Skandali, and its inhabitants were called Skaliotes. Agia Sophia took its name from the homonymous church, which was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Tradition holds that the first settlement lay further west, at Palio-mantra near Moudros Bay; after a pirate raid, the inhabitants moved the village to its current position, building the new houses with stones from the old. In the area there are also traces of medieval installations at Parthenomtos and Agiomarnos, where ruins of dwellings and churches survive. The Paradeisi hill also dominates, known for its pastures, apiaries, and petrified tree trunks. Near Fisini lies the renowned chapel of Agios Sozon, patron of sailors, whose cult gradually became central for the whole of Lemnos.