Zakynthos Nature and Farewell: Xigia Sulfur Springs Beach, Porto Katsiki Comparison, the Verdea Indigenous Wine, 1485 Venetian History, Dionysios Solomos Airport, and the Shipwreck Island Summary
The Zakynthos complete guide covers the unusual sulfur spring Xigia beach, the Porto Katsiki Lefkada benchmark comparison, the endangered Verdea amber wine, the longest Venetian colonial tenure of the Ionian Islands, the Dionysios Solomos airport connections, and the honest conclusion that Zakynthos is much more than its one famous beach image.
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Zakynthos Beaches: Xigia and the Sulfur Springs
Xigia beach on the north coast of Zakynthos, the beach where the sulfur springs bubble up through the seabed creating the warm sulfurous water that the locals attribute to therapeutic properties and the sulfur smell that is the most distinctive sensory experience on any Ionian beach, is the most unusual swimming experience in the Ionian Islands. The adjacent Makris Gialos beach provides the clean water alternative for the visitor who prefers the standard Ionian clarity.
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Porto Katsiki: The Lefkada Comparison
Porto Katsiki on Lefkada, the most beautiful beach in the Ionian Islands accessible from Zakynthos by the island hopping circuit via Kefalonia and Lefkada, provides the reference point against which the Navagio is measured by the Greek island connoisseur. The two beaches, Navagio with its shipwreck and Porto Katsiki with its vertical white cliff, represent the two most dramatic beach compositions in the Ionian chain and the two most photographed single beach images in Greece.
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Zakynthos Wine: The Verdea Indigenous Grape
Verdea, the amber-colored dry white wine produced exclusively in Zakynthos from the oldest indigenous grape variety of the island in a production that has declined to only a handful of producers, is the most endangered wine in the Ionian Islands and the most historically significant indigenous varietal in the island chain. The Verdea wine, with its distinctive resinous amber character from the old wood aging, is the most distinctive souvenir wine available in Zakynthos and the wine most associated with the island identity.
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Zakynthos in History: From Ancient to Venetian
Zakynthos, named for the mythological son of Dardanos who first settled the island, was a Venetian territory from 1485 to 1797 in the longest single colonial tenure of any Ionian island, with the Venetian administration creating the aristocratic class, the Ionian School of painting, and the cultural identity that distinguishes the Ionian Islands from mainland Greece. The 1953 earthquake that destroyed most of the Venetian heritage makes the pre-earthquake photographs the primary record of the Zakynthos that the Venetians built.
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Zakynthos Practical: Dionysios Solomos Airport
The Dionysios Solomos International Airport of Zakynthos, named for the national poet born on the island in 1798, receives the direct charter flights from UK, Germany, and Scandinavia throughout the summer season and the domestic connections from Athens year-round. The ferry connections from Zakynthos port to Kylini in the Peloponnese in 1.5 hours provide the mainland connection and the onward transport to Patras and Olympia for the visitor exploring the Ionian-Peloponnese circuit.
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Zakynthos Summary: The Shipwreck Island
Zakynthos, the Ionian island that has become internationally synonymous with the single most photographed beach in Greece, carries the weight of the Navagio image with the awareness that the island offers considerably more than the enclosed cove: the turtle nesting marine park, the Blue Caves crystal light, the Byzantine icon collection, the Verdea wine, and the Ionian architectural heritage of the rebuilt town together constitute a complete Ionian island experience that the Navagio cliff view merely introduces.