The place gave birth to great national benefactors and is deeply connected to ancient and modern history. It has a number of points of interest and cultural heritage, worth visiting to understand the cultural past of the place. In a suggested walking route inside Zitsa one can meet the City Hall and the Old School, the Magistrates’ Court, the Folklore Museum, the church of Agios Nikolaos, of St. Paraskevi, of Panagia, where there are points of view of special natural beauty, but also the High School. Other points of interest are:
- The Engraving Gallery of Zitsa, Ioannina is an important bridge to the richness of the means of expression, the variety of materials, the history of Modern Greek engraving during the 19th and 20th century and above all, it is the opening of the discussion between the creators of the 21st century that is advancing rapidly. The Gallery includes a rich permanent exhibition of Greek Engraving of about 350 works dating from the end of the 19th century until today. Works of Greek engravers and all the techniques of engraving are exhibited.
Exterior view of the Engraving Gallery
Interior view of the Engraving Gallery
- Holy Monastery of Paliouris, which according to tradition was built in 1688-1690 by Papanastasios Alexiou from Zitsa. The monastery acquired wealth and large estates, and according to tradition hosted a secret school. It was destroyed by Ali Pasha in 1782 and rebuilt in 1786 with the funding of prostitutes of Zagori, while in 1796 it was renovated.
Holy Monastery of Paliouris
Glinavos winery
- Zoinos winery is located near the wine-growing zone of Zitsa, the only PDO in Epirus, at a distance of 27 km from the city center. The visit program of the winery includes a tour of vineyards, information about the viticultural history of the area, a tour of the production and bottling areas of the winery and the distillery.
- The ancient settlement of Passaronas, on the hill “Kastri”, in the area of the village Megalo Gardiki of the Municipality of Zitsa, 10-11 km northwest of the city of Ioannina, remains of a fortified ancient city, while on the hillside, 2 km north of acropolis, remnants of an ancient temple are preserved. Limited systematic excavations and surface surveys have been carried out in the area.
- The Kaplanios School, donated by the great national benefactor Kaplanis. The building needs repair work in order to be put into use. The works will be carried out within the CULTURAL LANDS project. The space in its new use will be the National Museum of Benefactors.
Kaplanios School in Zitsa
However, there are some other points of interest located in the neighboring Municipality of Ioannina, donations of national benefactors originating from Metsovo and Zitsa and we would say that as points of cultural interest they belong to the same group as the previous ones, moreover they are quite close. Initially, the former Georgios Stavros Orphanage in Ioannina was the work of the great Benefactor, who founded the first credit institution in the country and managed it for 27 years. He is the one who together with Zoe Kaplanis and Zosimades invested the capital for the creation of the National Bank of Greece.
Exterior view of the Georgios Stavros Foundation
Then, the Kaplanios School founded in 1798 by Zois Kaplanis, who did not forget the other Greek children who longed like him to be educated. Kaplanios was placed under the direction of Athanasios Psalidas.
Exterior view of the Kaplanio School department in Ioannina
Another educational institution nearby is the Zosimaia School, founded by the Zosimades brothers. These three buildings are a sample of special architectural value and are located within the urban fabric of the city of Ioannina.
Exterior view of the department of Zosima School in Ioannina