Andreas Typaldos Laskaratos (1811-1901) was a famous satyr poet and prose writer from Lixouri. He was descended from a wealthy family and he studied law in Corfu, Pisa and Paris. In 1840 he returned to Kefalonia but did not practice for a long time as a lawyer. He traveled quite a lot in Greece and abroad and studied near Andreas Kalvos, while he also met Dionysios Solomos, who clearly influenced him. He involved with journalism, specialized in libelography and published collections of poems and prose. Laskaratos was a restless and incompatible spirit that did not hesitate to decry with his insulting words all the malpractice of his time: politics, social hypocrisy, and religious dogmatism. In 1856 the Metropolitan of Kefallinia excommunicated him because of his book “The Mysteries of Kefalonia”. Laskaratos resorted to Zakynthos to be excommunicated there. Apart from the straight confrontation with the clergy, Laskaratos also met the rejection by his compatriots. The persecutions he suffered almost led him to jail, and because of them he had to live for some time away from Kefalonia whom he loved so much. Ultimately, his excommunication was revoked just a few months before his death, but he himself did not make a statement of repentance. Over the years, his work has received wide recognition and acceptance, and today he is considered to be an important writer and representative example of the insubordinate Kefalonian spirit.

The bronze statue of Laskaratos, the artwork of Kefalonian sculptor Athanasios Apartis, has been in the center of the port of Lixouri since April 1970. The statue is about 2.60 meters high and the pedestal is supported by is 1.50 meters. On the podium is depicted the figure of his wife, Penelope Korgialenia, the offspring of a noble family of the island, with whom he acquired two sons and seven daughters. While the usual practice for coastal statues is to look to the sea, the statue of Laskaratos has the peculiarity of “looking” towards the city of Lixouri with its back facing Argostoli, which is a source of inexhaustible scornful comments by the inhabitants of both cities.