History
The place-name Preveza first appears in the Chronicle of the Morea. The region was taken by the Turks in 1477-78 and the city fortified (1486-1495), gradually becoming a naval station and commercial transit point. It changed hands repeatedly between Ottomans and Venetians until, with the fall of Venice, it passed to French and then to Ali Pasha's rule in 1798. The city was liberated and united with Greece on 21 October 1912.
In the early 19th century the port of Preveza was one of the most important commercial docks in Epirus, with sub-branches of the French, British, Greek and Italian consulates. In the interwar period it became a nodal point of commercial transit in north-western Greece, attracting migrants and rembetika musicians, among them the celebrated Markos Vamvakaris.
Fortifications
Important fortress works include the Ottoman fortress of Bouka (late 15th century, later the site of Ali Pasha's palace), the fortress of Aghios Andreas (Its Kale), reinforced by Ali Pasha with a moat (dapia) and three gates, and the fortress of Aghios Georgios (Yeni Kale). In the wider region Ali Pasha built the castles of Pantocrator (1807), designed by the French engineer Vaudoncourt, and Aktios (1812).
Worth seeing
Notable sights include the Clock Tower (1752), built with material from Nikopolis; the Monasteries of the Aghioi Apostoloi and Aghia Triada at Skafidaki; the Turkish Dioketirio (Government House) at the port; the Theofanios School, now the Municipal Cultural Centre; the Syrakiot folk museum; the bust of the poet Kostas Karyotakis; and the old quarter, whose 19th- and early-20th-century houses combine Epirot, Ottoman and Ionian baroque elements.
Worth seeing in the city
- The Clock Tower (1752), from the Venetian period.
- The Monastery of the Holy Apostles & the Monastery of Aghia Triada at Skafidaki (18th c.).
- The Turkish Government House at the port (today the courts) and the Theofanios School (Municipal Cultural Centre).
- The Syrakiot Folk Museum and the bust of Kostas Karyotakis.
- The old town, with its 19th–20th-century mansions.
The castles
Pantocrator Castle (1807), the castle of Aghios Andreas (Its Kale) and the castle of Aghios Georgios (Yeni Kale), works of the Ottoman and Ali Pasha periods.
Cultural life & festivals
The Nikopoleia (each summer in the ancient theatre and odeon of Nikopolis), the Zalongeia, the Preveza International Choral Festival and the Traditional Dance Festival.