Parga

In antiquity the Thesprotians lived here; Mycenaean tholos tombs have been found nearby, and the late Hellenistic town of Toryne, "ladle", took its name from the shape of its beach. Parga itself is first mentioned in 1318, with a name probably of Slavic origin. After Byzantine and Albanian rule, its people overthrew an unpopular governor and placed themselves under Venice in 1401, and for almost four centuries the town was a mainland outpost of Venetian Corfu. The castle above it, first built by the townspeople against pirates, was destroyed by the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1537 and rebuilt more than once by the Venetians; their last fortress held out until 1819. A Romaniote Jewish community is recorded in 1496, and the Venetians planted the olive groves that still surround the town.

When Venice fell in 1797 Parga passed to France, and its people turned to Britain for protection in 1815. In 1819 the British handed the town to Ali Pasha of Ioannina in return for a payment — the subject of Francesco Hayez's painting The Refugees of Parga — and almost all its inhabitants left for Corfu rather than live under Ottoman rule. Ali Pasha resettled the town and strengthened its castle; in 1830 the exiles were invited to return.

Parga became part of Greece in 1913. In 1924 about 1,500 of its Albanian-speaking Muslims were sent to Turkey in the population exchange, and the Second World War brought occupation and violence between communities. After the war tourism transformed the town, which preserves its traditional architecture and is now the busiest resort in Epirus.

Parga looks west to the Ionian islands as much as east to Epirus: its houses are built in a style clearly influenced by the architecture of the Ionian islands, the winged lion of St Mark still guards the castle gate, and four centuries under Venice brought privileges, prosperity and a role as a bridge between Ottoman-ruled Greece and Venice. Its nickname is the "Bride of Epirus".

The great event of the year is the Pargina, or Kanareia, around the feast of the Virgin in mid-August. On the eve of the feast people go by boat to the islet of the Virgin in front of the town; on 15 August crowds gather in the harbour for the barcarolle, a procession of boats decked with Venetian lanterns, sailing from the castle and from Pavloukes to re-enact the return of the people of Parga to their freed town, welcomed with fireworks.

The surrounding municipality keeps traces of an older linguistic mix: in villages of the Fanari plain and in places such as Anthousa and Kanallaki, a few people still speak Albanian. Scholars such as Andreas Idromenos and the historian Panagiotis Aravantinos came from Parga, and bequests from prominent local families endowed its cultural and educational foundations.

The municipal unit of Parga had about 3,900 people at the 2011 census. The wider municipality, with its seat at the village of Kanallaki, takes in the Fanari plain and villages such as Agia and Anthousa.

Tourism is the economy. Parga is the busiest resort on this coast and the most popular destination in Epirus, and in summer its hotels, rooms, tavernas, shops and boat operators work flat out; visitors arrive by bus from the airport near Preveza, by car along the motorway and by boat from Corfu, Paxos and Antipaxos. Most visitors are Greek, though the town is becoming better known abroad, especially in July and August. The olive groves planted under Venice still surround the town, and honey is a local product.

The rhythm is seasonal. Summer days revolve around the beaches and the boats, evenings around the harbour, and August around the festival of the Virgin. Outside the season the town is quiet and returns to its residents.

Parga eats from the sea and from its olive groves. The tavernas along the harbour and in the lanes towards the castle serve traditional Greek food — grilled fish and seafood, and the meze of the Greek table: tzatziki, grilled octopus, fried cheese saganaki and horiatiki, the village salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, olives and feta. The olive groves around the town were planted by order of the Venetians, after which a large part of the townspeople lived from olives and oil.

As part of Epirus, Parga shares the region's love of pies wrapped in filo — kotopita with chicken and galatopita, a sweet milk pie, among them — and galotyri, a thick, creamy dairy product made from rich sheep's milk.

Parga honey is the local speciality, sold by merchants on the road in front of Krioneri beach. To drink there is tsipouro, the strong grape brandy of Epirus, and ouzo with meze, and the village of Zitsa, inland, is known for its white wine from the Debina grape.