The settlement was called after either the flat plain on which it is situated or the broad opening of the surrounding bay (wide beach), which has been used as a port since the Middle Ages.

The basilica-style church of Agios Georgios was built in 1857, although the exonarthex and bell tower were added later. A previous church on the site is indicated by a walled relief of Saint George and the year 1808. The name of the carpenter from Constantinople who also built the temples of Atsiki and Varos is mentioned in the inscription. Saint Spyridon, whose icon was found in the town graveyard  in approximately 1870, is also commemorated in the church with the beautifully carved wooden iconostasis.