Vasiliko, Ioannina
Vasiliko is a village in the municipality of Pogoni, Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. It is situated at an altitude of 800 m. It is 3 km east of Kefalovryso, 13 km west of Konitsa, 16 km south of Leskovik and 44 km northwest of Ioannina.
Name
The toponym is formed from the Slavic noun cerъ, generic cera, from Latin cerrus meaning 'oak' and planina 'mountain, hill. The toponym began as Tseraplanina and later became Tsaraplana with the assimilation of the sounds e-''a into a''-a and the dissimilation of the syllables -ni-. According to locals the place name is derived from the Slavic word carъ, a term used for Russian, Ottoman and medieval Bulgarian heads of state. Linguist Kostas Oikonomou states this view is of a later origin and the mistaken association with the word carъ led to the village being officially renamed Vasiliko 'king' in Greek, a name change which preserved and strengthened the tradition.
Demographics
Part of the village population are Aromanian speakers.