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Ioannina (Prefecture)
Ioannina |
Welcome to Ioannina!
Welcome to one of the cultural centers of Greece.
The last 60 years of the 20th century may have proved disastrous for Ioannina, due to isolation as a result of World War II and the post-war establishment of hostile socialist regimes in the neighboring countries of Albania and Yugoslavia, but, before that, the city has always been a major traffic and commercial center on the routes connecting Greece with central Europe.
The establishing of Italy-Igoumenitsa ferry connections and the construction of the new Egnatia Highway connecting Igoumenitsa to the Turkish borders in Thrace is bound to transfuse fresh economic life to Epirus (also spelled Ipirus) in general and to Ioannina in particular. The airport of Ioannina connects the city with Athens and Thessaloniki. The new Rio-Antirrio Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge has brought Ioannina “closer” to Athens and the Peloponnese, since it cuts down traveling time by 1-2 hours. These changes combined, Ioannina shall again undertake the major role that it once enjoyed.
To the visitor, of special importance is the relatively short distance to winter resorts and skiing centers, like the one in the vicinity of Metsovo, and the archaeological site of Dodoni. In Dodoni there was the Oracle, second in importance only to that of Delphi. Today there exists one of the best preserved ancient theaters with performances of ancient Greek Drama every summer. It is worth noticing that the Egnatia National road had to be redesigned to avoid traffic noise from spoiling the serenity of the Theater environment.
One other reason for the visitor to be attracted to Ioannina is the well developed silver jewelry tradition, with many silversmith workshops and a wide range of creations for sale at bargain prices. Local industries major in the manufacture of filigree silver jewelry. The specificity of Ioannina art is mainly expressed by special manufacturing techniques such as wrought ("sfyrilato"), chiseled ("fouskoto" and "skalisto"), filigree ("syrmatero" and "savati"), techniques which reached the peak of their expressive power exactly here in Ioannina... Continue
| Ioannina: Cities and Towns | | |
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Delvinakι, Dodoni Village, Ioannina City, Karakoli Ski Center, Konitsa, Profitis Ilias Ski Center, Zagorochoria
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