The general, wider area of Ioannina is of great importance when it comes to culture and art, showing off a rich past and present. Ioannina, Metsovo and Zagorohoria are living examples of a very fascinating route through time: ancient places of worship, folklore museums showcasing the traditional way of life, benefactors whose offering now stands as a great cultural asset, a mosaic of influences dating back to the Byzantine era, the Ottoman period, the presence of Roman Jews, have all added stone so that the Regional Unit of Ioannina is today at the center of the cultural interest.
The city of Ioannina is Epirus’s vibrant cultural attraction with a strong vibrations and a variety of influences due to its charming history. The Archaeological Museum of Ioannina hosts items from all over Epirus, the Byzantine Museum, the Silversmithing Museum, as well as the fortified Castle and the Jewish Synagogue are just some of the most important points of historical and cultural interest that you should check out.
In the “Its Kale”, inside the Castle of Ioannina overlooking Lake Pamvotida, lies the Aslan Mosque, the tomb of Ali Pasha, as well as the Byzantine Museum with significant early Christian and Byzantine works of art. Also, within the city of Ioannina, the Municipal Art Gallery at the mansion of Vassilios Pyrsinellas is also worth paying a visit, with a variety of paintings by Greek painters and sculptors, the Ali Pasha Museum and the Museum of Pre-revolutionary period on the famous and tiny Ioannina Island. Add to the above the History Museum of Ch. Nikolaou, the Ethnographic Museum and the “Pavlos Vrellis” Wax Museum.
The Island of Ioannina, a government-declared “traditional settlement”, is undoubtedly worth a walk, access to which is achieved by boat from “Molos” in Ioannina. On the island with 110 houses you will come across one of the most important post-Byzantine monuments in the country, the Monastery of the Philanthropinon with its masterpiece murals. One of them is of unique value that depicts the 7 sages of antiquity. Also, the complex of monasteries of the island of Ioannina are third in a total of monasteries in Greece after those of Mount Athos and Meteora. Lastly, don’t pass on a walk on the lakefront promenade with Lake Pamvotida by your side.
Outside of the city, your first stop should definitely be at the nearby Ancient Dodoni, the oldest oracle in Greece and a worship center of God Zeus. In Homer’s “Odyssey”, Odysseus visits the oracle seeking Zeus of Dodoni, in order to learn about his return to his homeland Ithaca.
Another archeological site that we recommend you visit is Passarona, the ruins of the temple of Arios Zeus and the main sanctuary of the Molossians, an ancient tribe of Epirus. It is located on the hill of Gardiki.
Metsovo is itself a center of cultural and artistic wealth. The 17th century mansion that hosts the Tositsa Folklore Museum showcases the Greek folk art through an experiential tour and a collection of exhibits such as textiles, costumes, sculptures and engravings, while the Tsanaka Folklore Museum allows you to discover the “Vlahiki” art of Metsovo through everyday objects belonging to the Veneti and Tsanaka families. In addition, the contribution of the 20th century benefactor of Vlahiki origin Evangelos Averoff is magnificently depicted in the famous Averoff Art Gallery, located very close to the central square of the town. See Metsovo through the permanent exhibition of representative works of the most important Greek painters and engravers of the 19th century.
Just a little outside Metsovo lies the Anthohori Water Museum, the largest water museum in Greece. Here you will find out how our ancestors in Epirus started using the flow of water for their daily needs in the past. Built at the foothills of Mount Lakmos, this open-air Museum showcases machines and tools such as the water mill and the “mantani” (a wooden construction powered by water and used for making wool) that work with the rushing waters that descend from the Verliga dragon lake.
The villages of Zagori constitute a special historical and cultural unit for Epirus. Visit the ruins of one of the oldest farming settlements of the Molossi ancient tribe in Vitsa, the Lazaridis Museum of Flora and Fauna in Koukouli where medicinal plants and herbs of the Zagori used by the “doctors of Vikos” are exhibited. In the village of Kipi in Zagori you will also find the “Agapios Tolis” Folklore Museum with household utensils and traditional costumes; visit also the Rizario Craft School in Monodendri.
The area of Konitsa is also of very high cultural significance. In Bourazani, for example, operates the Environmental Educational Park where wild animals (“platoni” deer, wild boars, etc.) are being taken care of, while in Pyrsoyianni, the Museum of the Epirus Craftsmen (Mouseio Ipiroton Mastoron) honors the famous stone craftsmen.
In the area of Tzoumerka, we recommend that you check out the Museum of Post-Byzantine Icons in the Monastery of Vyliza, as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art “Theodoros Papayiannis” in the village of Elliniko, the “Erminia Fotiadou” Folklore Museum in Syrrako and the Museum of Kostas Krystallis in the same village. Finally, in Pogoni, another museum that gives you a complete idea of the old Epirus life is the Folklore Museum of Pogoniani, with a variety of objects of everyday life, agricultural tools, traditional costumes and wood carvings from Pogoni and Northern Epirus.
