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Our Journey: The Ancient Theatres of Epirus Cultural Route

The DIAZOMA Association, utilising the outcomes of the full synergy between citizens, state bodies and institutions, sponsors and European funding programs aiming to bring natural and cultural monuments to the centre of everyday life and sustainable development, proposes the design and implementation of holistic Cultural Tourism programmes. These programmes, Cultural Routes and Archaeological Parks, have the potential to act as the driving force for the sustainable development of an area or an entire Region by connecting its monuments with local entrepreneurship and the primary sector.

Cultural Routes and Archaeological Parks are underway in most of Greece’s Regions. To clearly depict the impetus of this development in the country, DIAZOMA is overhauling its website. We cordially invite you to join us in rediscovering it!

First stop: The Region of Epirus

  1. Exploring the Ancient Theatres of Epirus Cultural Route

Amvracia, Gitana. Lonesome words? Not any longer. TheAncient Theatres of Epirus Cultural Route” breathes life and substance into monuments and transforms them into drivers for sustainable development and ambassadors of history, nature and culture…”

The “Ancient Theatres of Epirus Cultural Route” was designed and is in operation following a proposal by DIAZOMA, with the Region of Epirus and the Ministry of Culture taking a central role. It is an innovative project, not only on a European but a global scale, as the Route is a specialised and branded holistic cultural tourism product. It is designed around the five ancient theatres of Epirus which act as a single cohesive element underpinning the Route.

The Cultural Route spans four Regional Units and includes five archaeological sites (Dodona, Nicopolis, Cassope, Amvracia and Gitana), eight sight and sound spaces (which include the theatres of Nicopolis, Dodona, Cassope, Amvracia and Gitana), and covers over 344 kilometres and 2300 years of history. Indeed, this is the first project in the country to have been included in the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2014-2020.

In November 2018, the Route’s launch event took place with the participation of citizens, the local community and the domestic and non-domestic tourism market (tour operators, bloggers and journalists) who were invited to become acquainted with the Cultural Route. The Region of Epirus appointed the EPIRUS S.A. Development Company as Destination Marketing and Management Organization- DMO, charged with ensuring daily that the high quality of the “chain” of resources and services of the above product is maintained.  The project has its own website and Facebook page.

The centrepieces of the Cultural Route are the five ancient theatres of Epirus and the archaeological sites that surround them: the Archaeological site and Ancient Theatre of Dodona; the Archaeological site and Ancient Theatre and Bouleuterion or Little Theatre of Cassope; the Archaeological site and Ancient Theatre, Stadium and Odeon of Nicopolis; the Archaeological site and Ancient Theatre of Gitana; and the Ancient Theatre of Amvracia.

The Ancient Theatres of Epirus Cultural Route programme is an Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) of the Epirus Regional Operational Programme 2014-2020 and is realised with funding of 37 million euro.

You can watch the Route’s promotional video and visit the Diazoma site to access more information on the Cultural Route.

  • The new DIAZOMA page dedicated to Cultural Routes will be launching soon! It is being designed on a voluntary basis by Mr Socrates Mehterides (programmer and DIAZOMA member).
  • Photo source: Region of Epirus