Zitsa offers several distinct ways to explore art, heritage and wine. The Printmaking Gallery focuses on a collection of Greek prints dating from the late 19th century to the present day; the Folklore Museum preserves old objects and traditional clothing from earlier generations, while the wine pavilion is dedicated to the region’s wine production. When planning a stay, it is worth organising these offerings by interest rather than treating them as similar stops. This can help you decide whether to focus on visual art and its production, traditional everyday culture, or wine and regional production.
Printmaking, Library and Workshops
The Printmaking Gallery’s permanent exhibition comprises 500 works of Greek printmaking, dating from the late 19th century to the present day. This broad span gives the collection a clear framework. A separate library room complements it with more than 1,600 titles on art theory and criticism, history, archaeology and folklore. There are also exhibition catalogues and rare art magazines. This brings two distinct perspectives together: the prints on display and literature on art and related subjects.
The process of making art is also part of what the gallery offers. A model printmaking workshop used as a museum space is equipped with the necessary tools for producing a print. There is also a fully equipped ceramics workshop for learning the art of ceramics. The subject matter thus ranges from finished graphic works to workshops for printmaking and ceramics.
Everyday Culture and Landscape
The Folklore Museum of Zitsa preserves old objects and traditional clothing that evoke the everyday lives of earlier generations. Its focus therefore differs from that of the Printmaking Gallery: here, traditional everyday culture and its objects take centre stage. The museum is located near the Church of Agios Nikolaos, which also provides a specific local landmark for orientation.
The nearby landscape includes the 780-metre-high hill above Zitsa. The Monastery of Prophet Elias stands on it. The hill was once covered with mighty, centuries-old oak trees; some of these trees still survive. The hill thus links a named place with a landscape where former oak stands can be contrasted with the trees that remain. This offers a different way of exploring local history from the preserved objects and clothing in the museum.
Wine Production and Regional Craftsmanship
The wine pavilion is located in the central square of the Zitsa community. Its building takes the shape of a barrel: shaped wooden strips arranged side by side and metal hoops recreate its structure. The pavilion provides information about the region’s wine-growing zone and presents well-known wines and spirits produced at the region’s wineries from the local Ντεμπίνα grape variety.
Digital interactive glasses offer a further glimpse into regional production. Visitors can use them to explore the region’s vineyards, wineries and distilleries, and to follow the production of wine and the distillation of tsipouro. The wine pavilion thus showcases both the products and the processes behind them. Together with the building’s barrel design, this creates a distinct focus, different from the collections of printmaking and everyday culture.
If you are looking for accommodation in Zitsa, these different interests can help guide your choice: consider whether you would like to connect your stay primarily with printmaking, traditional everyday culture, the monastery on the hill or wine production.
Discover more destinations: Raiko, Kato Pedina, Pramanta, Elafotopos, Drosopigi, Milea, Kalpaki, Ioannina.
Return to the main travel overview: Ioannina.
