Greece Zante An Island With Verdant Landscape And Flowered Fields

Zakinthos (Zante)

The Venetians who ruled Zante for some 300 years called it "the flower of the Levant" (that is, the eastern Mediterranean), and Zakynthos remains something of a paradise, known for its verdant landscape and flowered fields. Greeks themselves have long appreciated Zakynthos's charms and use it as a vacation retreat. Its easy accessibility - air connections to Athens and Cephalonia, ships to the mainland and other Ionian Islands - plus its fine climate, its good roads and public transport system, its many hotels and restaurants - all combine to make Zakynthos a most attractive goal for those seeking a Greek island holiday.

Only some 40 km long and 18 km wide, Zante has experienced its share of history. It is almost certainly the island of Zakynthos mentioned in Homer as belonging to the kingdom of Odysseus (although some have argued that it was in fact his native Ithaka). The island may well have been colonized by Achaean Greeks, but by 455 BC it was conquered by Athens. Its location on the sea route to the western Mediterranean made it a desirable target for all subsequent Mediterranean powers, too - Romans, Saracens, Normans, Franks, Turks. But it was the Venetians who conquered it in 1485 and held it till 1797, putting their imprint on the island that still remains in the architecture and subtle other ways. Italian words are still used by Greeks, many Greek-Italian families exist, some still Roman Catholic; meanwhile, Zante's native son, Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827) is regarded by Italy as one of their poets. After a brief spell under the French, Zakinthos became part of the British protectorate until it joined Greece in 1864.

Because of its location, Zakynthos has also been visited by numerous celebrities, including the great ancient traveller, Herodotus. Kolokotronis, one of the leaders of the Greeks' struggle for independence from the Turks, sought refuge here in 1805. And in addition to Foscolo, two famous poets of Greece were born here, Dionysios Solomos and Andreas Kalvos.

The largest city, main port, and point of entry for most who come to the island is Zakynthos Town, on the east coast. It rings the bay and is backed by a hill with a Venetian castle on its top. Zakynthos Town suffered considerably in the last great earthquake, 1953, but it has now been totally restored. It boasts several fine old churches: Ayios Nikolaos, Ayios Dionysios (with relics of the island's patron saint, and frescoes by Cozzari, a local pupil of Tiepolo) and the Panayia Faneromeni. The town also has two museums. The one for Byzantine art has several important ikons of the Ionian School, which seems to have originated when Cretans fled from the Turkish conquest at the end of the 17th century and ended up on Zakynthos and Corfu where their work proceeded to combine the Byzantine traditions with a more Italianate style.

The other museum, the Solomos Museum, or Museum of the Celebrities of Zakynthos, houses the mausoleums of Solomos (who wrote the words to the Greek national anthem) and Andreas Kalvos. (Foscolo's house is marked by a monument in its garden.) Also of interest in Zakynthos Town is a chapel called Kyria ton Angelon ("Lady of the Angels") attached to the fine mansion of the Roma family.

The place that will appeal to all, though, is the Venetian citadel on the peak above the town. There had always been some sort of fortress here since ancient times, but as usual it was the Venetians who erected the most ambitious one; the remains may no longer be all that impressive but the view is spectacular: below lies the town, the Peloponnesus lies just to the east, while to the west are the foothills of Mt. Skopos, the highest peak on Zakynthos.

Not everyone will want to ascend that peak - only some 485 meters - but it is a rewarding excursion. You head south from Zakinthos Town and at about 4 km take the path up to the summit. Again, it is the view, not the summit itself that is the attraction. On the way to the top you pass the Monastery of Panayia Skopiotissa, with icons dating from the 16th century. Back down on the coast road you could proceed on to a beach at Argasi, with nearby ruins of the ancient site of Palaiokastro and a medieval tower. Continuing still farther south would bring you to Porto-Roma, a small harbour surrounded by pine trees. Some 6 km off to the south of Zakynthos Town is a popular beach resort, Lagana Beach, on the bay of that name. It is the most "developed" resort on the island and can be crowded in high season and it may not appeal to everyone as a goal on a Greek island. In recent years Lagana Beach has been much in the news because of the attempts by conservationists to put a stop to the tourist development here: the loggerhead turtles of the Mediterranean have long used this beach as a breeding ground - indeed, it is the largest in the Mediterranean and all of Europe for this species - and since these turtles need to come up at night to undisturbed sand to lay their eggs, their very existence is threatened by the increasing encroachments on the beach.

Those who want to give the turtle some chance to survive may want to avoid Lagana Beach. Instead, take an excursion to the famous Blue Grotto, at Kianou on the northern tip of the island. It is best approached by taking a boat from Zakynthos Town. Other attractions on the northern end of the island include the town of Katastari and the nearby beach of Alikes; the Monastery of Ayios Ioannis Prodromos; the Skinari Lighthouse and the Monastery of Ayios Georgios at the very northern tip of Zakynthos. Moving southward along the west coast would bring you through Anafonitria with the Monastery where St. Dionysios, patron saint of the island, is said to have lived. The road then raises high above the coast and passes through Makharadi, well known for the church bells of its Ayia Mavra. Proceeding down back to the coast, at the south-west tip you come to Keri, a port with a beach; nearby are the natural tar-pitch springs (pissa tau Keriau) that Herodotus and Pliny mentioned as being used for caulking boats - and still so used.

Yet another excursion is to the Strophades Isles, some 50 km south of Zakynthos and thus a fairly hardy voyage in a small boat. It might reward birdwatchers, though, for it has a native species of gull as well as many other birds. The larger of the two isles still has a fortress-monastery from the Byzantine era with a few monks in residence.