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Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Greece 2023: Preveza

 Arriving back on the Greek mainland, we drove down the cost of the Ionian Sea where our next stop was the town of Preveza.

Preveza itself has an unclear founding; located close by was the city of Nicopolis, founded by Augustus Caesar to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., which occurred nearby.  The name Preveza appears in a Byzantine record in 1292 A.D., but was likely in existence before then. Essentially refounded by the Ottoman Turks in 1477 A.D., it passed briefly to the Venetian Republic from 1684 - 1699 A.D.  and then again in in 1717 A.D. - thus like Corfu, it bears the stamp of Venice.  It passed to the French in 1797 A.D., then back to the Ottomans in 1820 A.D., only to finally become part of Greece again in 1912 A.D.

One of the notable features to me was the Church of St. Charalampos - not only because it was a rather nice church, but it was the first church there were no restrictions taken pictures inside.


The Altar:


If you look at the paintings, you will see evidence of The Ionian School - Orthodox traditional saints and stories painted in the Italian style.





The streets and their views stretched down to the coast:


Of all the cities we visited, this was one of my favorites.  I still keep the temperature of it on my phone now, on the odd chance I might want to go back someday.

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6 comments:

  1. Nylon125:31 AM

    Boy, you had some blue sky days in your visit overseas TB. Eastern Orthodox churches really are ornate, the one I visited in my hometown was much the same in the altar area.

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    1. Toirdhealbheach Beucail9:43 AM

      Even our guide commented how great the weather was on our trips.

      The pictures here are similar to every church we went in during our trip.

      Delete
  2. Ed10:40 AM

    I'm always in awe of the timescales of Europe compared to America.

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    1. Toirdhealbheach Beucail9:14 PM

      Ed, we have yet to go to Mycenae, where some of the oldest ruins in Europe are. It really does put the US into perspective historically.

      Delete
  3. Leigh5:09 AM

    I'm amazed that it isn't packed with tourists. That is a huge appeal. Not to mention the town's charming Greek character.

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    1. Toirdhealbheach Beucail8:56 AM

      Leigh, outside of Athens, we did not really hit than many tourists (except at the really famous places, like Deliphi and Olypmia and Mycenae). I think it was a bit early yet for the European tourists season.

      One thing about almost every Greek town we went to - like in Costa Rica, they were complete small towns with all kinds of businesses, not like in the US where too many small towns have become hollowed out shells or associations for chain stores.

      Delete

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