Domanda sul villaggio di Kapilio

Kapilio belongs to a collection of villages called “Κρασοχώρια” (“wine villages”) in the southern side of the Troodos mountains, spanning the Paphos and Limassol districts.

During the Frankish period, parts of this region (plus others in the periphery and even as far as Keryneia) were feudal estates granted to the Knight Templar and the Knights of St. John. The former owned Cyprus before giving it to Guy de Lusignan due to the rebellious nature of the local Roman (Greek) population.

The region close to the Κρασοχώρια and that further south at Kolossi was called “Commandaria” i.e. the command area of the Knights. This is why a) there is a prominent castle still standing at Kolossi and b) the wine they produced in the region got the name “Commandaria” (even though the actual wine existed without that name prior to their arrival). It’s like how we call other wines by their region of origin (“Santorini”, “Agiorgitiko”, “Champagne” etc).

Now was Kapilio actually owned by the Knights? None of the primary Cypriot Greek sources we usually conduct (mainly Machairas’ Chronicle or Boustronios’ Chronicle) mention it, so we don’t know. So the adoption of the crest as an emblem for the village seems more speculative to stress the more general connection of the region.