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Parga

Picturesque, insular small town with great history, rare natural beauties, clean sea, forests, healthy climate and romantic ways with two and three-stories buildings, built on a rock. A row of all green islets close the gulf of Parga. It is lying 68km north-west of Preveza. In the summer, the northwest winds give the area a pleasant coolness. The land all around Parga is very fertile because of the abundant crystal waters. The lemon, orange and citron-trees perfume the air. At Balios seashore, below the castle, there are the establishments of Mediterrane Club. In the last ten years, Parga has become a very crowded touristic center -most of the foreign visitors are Italians. It is base of the homonynous municipality of the province of Nikopolis - Parga of Preveza`s prefecture. It is built at the east side of small peninsula of some coast of the Ionian Sea, where picturesque anchorages are formed, framed by hillocks covered with trees. In Parga`s municipality belong three more smaller groups of houses as well as Panagia islet. History of Parga: In the end of the 14th century, after a period of Norman suzerainty, Parga passed to the Venetians suzerainty which lasted till 1792, while there was a pause (1452-1454), when it was seized by the Ottomans. In the years of the Venetians domination, Parga had significant privileges while it had Greek governors (Corfu). In those times, Parga noticed economical flourish and it was the link between Greece, which was conquered by the Turks and Venice, hiding place of the rebels and port of Souli. In 1797, it was given to the French authority, without its priviledges been abolished, and in 1814 to the English one. However, the Englishmen sold it to the Turk Ali Pasha, who always wanted to rule over Parga, and so the people of Parga, the majority, took refuge in Corfu (1819). This fact caused the intense protestation of the Europians lovers of the Greeks and it was lamented by the unknown poet makers of our popular traditional songs. Parga was liberated in 1912.

Worth seeing places:

• The area of the city which is full of medieval buildings, on the uphill way to the castle.
• The all green islet of Panagia, in front of the group of houses and the greatest length of the seashore.
• The Museum of the Church, which exposes vestments, heirlooms of churches, manuscripts, pictures, evangels, sepulchral embroidered with golden threads (of the 17th century).
• The old churches of Agioi Apostoloi (Saints Apostles) and Agia Eleni, at the mouth of Acherontas river.
• The monastery of Panagia of Vlacherna, at Kladio cape, above the coast of Balios. It was built by Helen Komnene at the beginning of the 12th century. The church of the monastery has the style of royal church and it is dressed with sculptured things.
• The sea caves, at the gulf of Lychnos. One can enter in the biggest one, Venus`s one, by boat. An interesting running through by sailboat is from Parga along the coast till the wide beach of Baltos and from there through the river till the area which is next to the ancient ruins of Acheroussia.

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