Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Ionian islands
The six core Ionian islands, shepherding their satellites down the west coast
of the mainland, float on the haze of the Ionian Sea, their lush green
contours, a result of heavy winter rains, coming as a shock to those more
used to the stark outlines of the Aegean. The west coasts of the larger islands
also boast some of Greece's most picturesque cliff-backed beaches, whose
sands are caressed by a band of milky turquoise water leading to the deeper
azure sea.
Tourism is the dominant influence these days, as it has been for decades on
Corfu
(Kérkyra), which was one of the first Greek islands established on the package-
holiday circuit, though the continuing downturn means it does not feel as swamped
as in the past. And while parts of its coastline are among the few stretches in Greece
with development to match the Spanish
costas
, the island is large enough to contain
parts as beautiful as anywhere in the group. The southern half of
Zákynthos
(Zante)
has also gone down the same tourist path, but elsewhere the island's pace is a lot less
intense. Little
Paxí
lacks the water to support large-scale hotels and has limited
facilities tucked into just three villages, meaning it gets totally packed in season.
Perhaps the most rewarding trio for island-hopping are Kefaloniá, Itháki and
Lefkádha
. The latter is connected to the mainland by a causeway and iron bridge
but still has quite a low-key straggle of tourist centres and only two major resorts,
despite boasting some excellent beaches, strung along its stunning west coast.
Kefaloniá
offers a series of “real towns” and more stunning beaches, as well as a
selection of worthwhile attractions, while
Itháki
, Odysseus's rugged capital, is
protected from a tourist influx by an absence of sand. Although officially counted
among the Ionians and constituting the seventh of the traditional
eptánisos
(heptanese or “seven islands”), rugged Kýthira is geographically quite separate from
the six main islands. Only accessible from the southern Peloponnese, it is covered in
chapter 2 (see p.150).
11
Brief history
The Ionian islands were the Homeric realm of Odysseus, centred on Ithaca (modern
Itháki), and here alone of all modern Greek territory the Ottomans never held sway
- except on Lefkádha. After the fall of Byzantium, possession passed to the
Venetians
,
and the islands became a keystone in Venice's maritime empire from 1386 until its
collapse in 1797. Most of the population remained immune to the establishment of
Italian as the official language and the arrival of Roman Catholicism, but Venetian
influence remains evident in the architecture of the island capitals, despite damage
from a series of earthquakes.
The Ionian School of painting
p.711
Mount Pandokrátor
p.714
Boat trips from Paleokastrítsa
p.719
Walking the Corfu Trail
p.723
Walks around Lákka
p.726
Lefkádha's summer festivals
p.730
Boat trips from Nydhrí
p.732
Lover's leap
p.735
Odysseus sights around Vathý
p.746
Boat trips from Zákynthos Town
p.749
Loggerhead turtles
p.753
