The town,
like the
island,
is known
as both
ZÁKYNTHOS
and
Zante.
This
former "Venice
of the
East" (
Zante,
Fior di
Levante
, "Flower
of the
Levant",
in an
Italian
jingle),
rebuilt
on the
old
plan,
has
bravely
tried to
re-create
some of
its
style,
though
reinforced
concrete
can only
do so
much.
The
town
stretches
beyond
the
length
of the
wide and
busy
harbour,
its main
section
bookended
by the
grand
Platía
Solomoú
at the
north,
and the
church
of
Áyios
Dhionysios
, patron
saint of
the
island,
at the
south.
The
church
is well
worth a
visit
for the
dazzling
giltwork
and fine
modern
murals
inside,
and a
new
museum
, which
has some
fine
paintings
and
icons (daily
8.30am-11pm;
¬0.90).
The
vestments
of Saint
Dhionysios
are kept
in the
restored
church
of Áyios
Nikólaos
tou
Mólou on
Platía
Solomoú.
The
square
is named
after
the
island's
most
famous
son, the
poet
Dhionysios
Solomos,
the
father
of
modernism
in Greek
literature,
who was
responsible
for
establishing
demotic
Greek
(as
opposed
to the
elitist
katharévousa
form) as
a
literary
idiom.
He is
also the
author
of the
lyrics
to the
national
anthem,
an
excerpt
from
which
adorns
the
statue
of
Liberty
in the
square.
There's
an
impressive
museum
(daily
9am-2pm;
¬2.35)
devoted
to the
life and
work of
Solomos
and
other
Zakynthian
luminaries
in
nearby
Platía
Ayíou
Márkou.
It
shares
its
collection
with the
museum
on Corfu,
where
Solomos
spent
most of
his life.
Another
local
man of
letters,
who had
a museum
dedicated
to him
by the
town
council
in 1998,
is
novelist
and
playwright
Grigorios
Xenopoulos
. His
eponymous
museum (Mon-Fri
9am-2pm;
free),
which
occupies
the
small
house he
inhabited
in Gaďta
street,
not far
from
Áyios
Dhionysios
church,
displays
a modest
collection
of
manuscripts,
books
and
photographs,
as well
as the
house's
original
furniture.
Platía
Solomoú
is home
to the
town's
library
, which
has a
small
collection
of pre-
and
post-quake
photography,
and the
massive
Zákynthos
Museum
(Tues-Sun
8am-2.30pm;
¬2.35),
sometimes
referred
to as
the
Byzantine
Museum,
most
notable
for its
collection
of
artworks
from the
Ionian
School,
the
region's
post-Renaissance
art
movement,
spearheaded
by
Zakynthian
painter
Panayiotis
Doxaras.
The
movement
was
given
impetus
by
Cretan
refugees,
unable
to
practise
under
Turkish
rule. It
also
houses
some
secular
painting
and a
fine
model of
the town
before
the
earthquake.
Zákynthos's
other
main
attraction
is its
massive
kástro
,
brooding
over the
hamlet
of
Bóhali
on its
bluff
above
the town.
The
ruined
Venetian
fort (daily
8am-7.30pm
in
summer,
8am-2pm
in
winter;
¬1.50)
has
vestiges
of
dungeons,
armouries
and
fortifications,
plus
stunning
views in
all
directions.
Its
shady
carpet
of
fallen
pine
needles
makes it
a great
spot to
relax or
picnic.
Below
the
kástro
walls,
Bóhali
has a
couple
of good
though
expensive
tavernas,
some
hosting
nightly
kantádhes
,
although
Zakynthian
driving
habits
make the
thirty-minute
walk
from
town a
risky
business
after
dark.
The ugly
new
amphitheatre
on the
road up
from
town
sometimes
hosts
concerts.
Further
towards
the
kástro
the
Maritime
Museum
(daily
9.30am-2.30pm
&
6.30-10.30pm;
¬2.35)
contains
plenty
of naval
paraphernalia
and
presents
an
interesting
chronological
history
of
Hellenic
seafaring.
