Thesprotia

About Prefecture of Thesprotia

The Province of Thesprotia covers the NW part of Epirus region. Its Surface reaches 1.515 km and its population is consisting of 46.000 inhabitants. Igoumenitsa, the capital of the prefecture, is also the biggest harbor in NW Greece. Within its territory, it comprises ten Municipal (and two Communities). It is mostly a mountainous area shaped by the west mountain chain of Pindos, which gradually lower in the west towards the sea. Among these sierras small and oblong valleys open, crossed by the rivers of Kalamas and Acheron. The two rivers, receiving the waters of many smaller rivers and torrents, outfall within the Ionian Sea.

Thesprotia, with its particular geographic position, the bas relief and the safe moorages within its many natural maritime bays, drove the Mycenae settlers to found fortified settlements, around the 14th century B.C. During the 4th century B.C the people of Thesprotia established cities with a complete residential system, such as Elea and Gitani. The history of the region, though the centuries, is imprinted upon the ruins of cities, hovels, towers, castles, monasteries, churches and a lot of archaeological findings. Today, Thesprotia constitutes the main naval gateway of the country, from Western Europe.

Its role is upgraded with the function of the new port and the completion of Egnatia highway making known the capital of the prefecture of Thesprotia, Igoumenitsa, as one of the principal transportation centers of Europe.

The Igoumenitsa City

Igoumenitsa is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit Thesprotia. Its original ancient name used to be Titani. Igoumenitsa is a picturesque small town with lots of green (the dominating forest can be easily seen in the picture), beaches with crystal clear blue waters, and green mountains surrounding the town. The 670 km Egnatia Highway, which serves northern Greece, terminates at Igoumenitsa.

Archaeological sites and Monuments

The very few ruins of churches which date back to the Palaeo-Christian - Basilica of Glyki, three-arched Basilica of "Panagia of Veliani" - and to the Mid - Byzantine period - ruins of the churches of Fotiki, Basilica of Glyki - are supplemented by a large number of church monuments, whose foundation based on literary tradition, goes back many centuries earlier of those surviving today I the same place. Many of the church monuments were destroyed during the Ottoman domination. Later interference, during the 19the and 20th centuries, altered the architecture, of several other ones, irreparably.