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Zakynthos

The Venetians baptized it "the flower of the Orient" (Fior' di Levante). Others gave it just as evocative names like "earthly paradise", and "Perfumed Isle", while Dionysios Solomos, the father of modern Greek poetry and a native son, wrote "Zakinthos could make one forget the Elysian Fields". The Museum of Post-Byzantine Art on Solomos Square contains treasures salvaged from the island's historic churches. On the waterfront, one should visit the churches of Agios Dionysios, the island's patron saint, with its tall campanile, and of Agios Nikolas tou Molou, a church out of the Italian Renaissance with, surprisingly, a 17th century Byzantine belfry.

If you walk along the flagstone coastal promenade, the so-called Strata Marina between the two churches, at dusk, you'll get the true flavour of the town. Sometimes it seems as if the whole population is out enjoying the ritual of the evening stroll. The street is lined with small cafes and shops selling folk art. One should not leave before tasting the famous Zakinthos "mandolato" or nougat. The town is watched over by the Venetian fortress on the hill above. Only the gate, outer walls and battlements still stand. But from this vantage point one has a spectacular view of the harbour, fertile inland plain and beaches as far as the eye can see. Nearby is another hill, the Lotus Strani where Solomos Dionysios composed the famous, the father of Modern Greek poetry "Hymn to Liberty", which became the Greek National Anthem.

The Museum was built after the earthquake of 1953. It was organized by the Academician Manolis Hadzidakis and was opened to the public in 1960.

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