Tsaritsani is a semi-mountainous town located 5 km southwest of Elassona, on the western foothills of Lower Olympus. According to the French geologist Ami Boué, the plain where modern-day Tsaritsani lies, along with the surrounding hills, was once part of the bed of an ancient lake.
Tsaritsani preserves traditional mansions, which serve as examples of the prosperity the town experienced during the Ottoman period. It reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries, when its population grew to 7,000 inhabitants, fueled by the development of industries producing dyes, silk, and red threads, which were sold in major European markets.
The town is also home to a renowned Greek school of national reputation, where prominent scholars studied, including Konstantinos Oikonomos. One of its notable students was Christoforos Perraivos, a fighter in the Greek War of Independence (1821).
In the early 19th century, Tsaritsani began to decline due to the rise of the European dye industry. At the same time, it suffered from the raids of Ali Pasha’s Turco-Albanians and was further devastated by a severe plague in 1813, which decimated its population.
