Mousiotitsa
Mousiotitsa or Kato Mousiotitsa is a village located in the Ioannina regional unit in the Epirus region of western Greece. Situated 33 km south of the city of Ioannina near the springs of the river Louros, the village consists of 4 areas: Kato Mousiotitsa, Ano Mousiotitsa, Nea Mousiotitsa and Mesoura. It is surrounded by 5 mountains: Bitera, Spithari, Pourizi, Kalogeritsa and Katafi.
The village has a permanent population of 468, however, in the summer months the numbers can soar past 1000 as expatriates return from abroad and from Athens and other larger cities.
Since 2011 the village belongs to the municipality of Dodoni after the merger of its previous municipal unit Agios Dimitrios with three other units.
Name
The toponym Mousiotitsa is formed from the Slavic personal name Myšota from myš-ъ meaning 'mouse' and the suffix -ota, and the patronymic suffix -išt stemming from itj with change of the Slavic y into i present in the South Slavic languages and i into u in Greek by the influence of the neighbouring labial through labialisation. The local suffix -išta was replaced by the frequent and familiar to Greek speakers suffix -itsa. Linguist Kostas Oikonomou writes that a false etymology exists for Mousiotitsa deriving part of the toponym from an ethnic suffix iotissa.History
Initial settlement
It is widely regarded to have been settled in the early 18th century. The old St. Nicholas church is first mentioned in the Greek church archives in the year 1791, however, its construction is dated at around 1770. One of the oldest houses still remaining is dated at 1750. Its first inhabitants are believed to have been Klephts and other refugees fleeing from Ottoman oppression or persecution. The shape of the geographical surroundings shielded the village and its inhabitants from view, thus providing a safe place to dwell.The village is believed to have belonged to the group of villages that made up the Souli mountain settlements. This belief is supported by the fact that local names resemble common Souliot names, alongside knowledge of Arvanitika among village elders - a language commonly spoken amongst Souliot. As late as 1880, Mousiotitsa is described by Greek sources of that era as one of the exclusively Albanian-speaking villages of Tsarkovista. It was part of an Albanian-speaking enclave of villages in the upper Acheron region. From the mid 19th century the use of Greek was increasing and Albanian declining in the region.