Lying a short distance off the north-western tip of the Peloponnese and south of the islands of Kerkira, Kephalionia, Ithaki, Paxi and Lafkada, Zakynthos is the sixth of the seven Ionian isles known as the Eptanissa. Unlike the islands in the Aegean that are mostly rocky outcropings, the islands of the Ionian Sea are lush and green.
While the rest of Greece spent 400 years under Ottoman Turkish Empire, Zakynthos was a Venetian rule and was independent over 30 years before the rest of Greece.
Under Venetian rule Zakynthos, which the Venetians called Zante, flourished and became known as the Florence of Greece. The Venetians bragged about their possession calling it the "Flower of the East". When Edgar Allan Poe visited the island in 1837 he wrote a Sonnet - To Zante.
This pride is instilled in the people of Zakynthos and their descendants to this day. "Isola d'oro! Fior di Levante!"
 Zakynthos, The Island |
 A Guided Tour of Zakynthos |
 Greek Links |
 Zakynthos Chat |
