Lárisa, chief town of Thessaly and an agricultural market town, lies at a bend in the river Piniós (Peneios) in the Thessalian plain, to the south of Mt Olympus.
Human settlement in this area dates back to the Palaeolithic period. In the second millennium B.C. Lárisa (the "Citadel") was founded by Pelasgians. They were
followed by Achaeans and later by Dorians, who established a number of principalities, including that of the Aleuadai at Lárisa. Among those whom they attracted to their court was the physician Hippokrates of Kos, who died here in 370 B.C. In 344 B.C. the town was captured by Macedon. During the Middle Ages it was a staging point for incomers and invaders (Goths, Slavs, Bulgars). In the 13th century it came under the authority of the Despotate of Árta, and in 1389 fell into the hands of the Turks, who held it until 1881.
Air services from Athens; on Athens-Salonica and Lárisa-Vólos railroad lines.
Lárisa is now a major commercial and industrial center. Worth seeing are the medieval fortress, Alcazar Park, the ancient Theater, the archeological museum and the art gallery.
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