Zakynthos ( ) or Zante (), is a city and a former municipality on the island of

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian language, Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an are ...

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zakynthos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Zakynthos. Apart from the official name Zakynthos, it is also called Chora (i.e. the Town), a common denomination in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town. The municipal unit of Zákynthos lies in the easternmost part of the island and has a land area of and a population of 16,996 at the 2021 census. It is subdivided into the communities Zakynthos, Ampelokipoi, Argasi, Vasilikos, Gaitani and Bochali. The municipal unit also includes the Strofades islands, which lie about south of Zákynthos island.

Tourism

Zakynthos City, while not hosting many resorts itself, attracts tourists from across the island for boat trips, nightlife and food. It is popular with Europeans, particularly Croatian and British tourists.

Notable people

* Dionysios (16th century), patron saint of Zakynthos *

Pavlos Carrer Pavlos Carrer (also Paolo Carrer; ; 12 May 1829 – 7 June 1896) was a Greek composer, one of the leaders of the Ionian art music school and the first to create national operas and national songs on Greek plots, Greek librettos and verses, as ...

(1829–1896), composer *

Ugo Foscolo Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and poet. He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''. Early life Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Ionia ...

(1778–1827), writer, revolutionary and poet *

Andreas Kalvos Andreas Kalvos (; ; 1 April 1792 – 3 November 1869) was a Greek poet of the Romantic school. He published five volumes of poetry and drama: ''Canzone...'' (1811), ''Le Danaidi'' (1818), (1818), ''Lyra'' (1824) and ''New odes'' (1826). He was ...

(1792–1869), poet *

Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greeks, Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' (, ''Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían''), whic ...

(1798–1857), poet

International relations

Zakynthos is twinned with: *

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

, Cyprus * Serravalle, San Marino * Kiryat Bialik,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Ζάκυνθος: Αδελφοποιήθηκε με την πόλη Κιριάτ Μπιαλίκ
(in Greek). Zakynthos: twinned with the city of Kiryat Bialik *

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, Mexico

References

Populated places in Zakynthos Greek prefectural capitals Populated places in ancient Ionian Islands {{Ionian-geo-stub