Geographical & Historical Outline of Lefkada
Lefkada belongs to the group of Ionian islands between Corfu and Kefalonia.
It is separated from the coast of Central Greece opposite by an artificial canal a mere 25 meters wide.
A moving bridge connects the two sides of the canal, and there is a larger bridge above the lagoon used by traffic to and from the mainland.
This gives the impression that Lefkada is not an island, but simply an extension of the territory of Akarnania, since it is not necessary to take a boat to reach it.
There are daily ferry services and small boats from the harbor of Lefkada to the islands of Ionian sea and the nearby uninhabited islets.
Lefkada along with the islands of Meganissi, Kalamos, Kastos, Scorpios, Skorpidi, Mathouri, Sparti, Thilia, Kythros and other smaller ones around them, constitutes the province of Lefkada with the homonym city as capital.
The terrain of the island is mountainous, the highest peak being Stavrota (1.182 meters) and Elati (1.126 meters).
The island has much vegetation, a few plains, crystal clear sea, picturesque villages and many verdant settlements along the east coast.
It has an area of 303 square kilometers and 117 kilometers of coastline.
Geographical & Historical Outline of Lefkada
The earliest inhabitants were Leleges.
In the 6th c. BC it became a Corinthian colony, the Corinthians founding three important cities.
According to one version, Lefkada had been part of the Central Greek mainland until then, and it was the Corinthians who used their technical skill and knowledge to dig the canal, separating Lefkada from the rest of the mainland and converting it into an island.
During the Peloponnesian War, it supported the Corinthians.
Later it was subjected to the Macedonian kingdom, and thereafter to the Romans.
During the Byzantine times, the island was in decline, and was captured by the Franks, Venetians, French and British.
The Venetian occupation was an especially difficult time for the inhabitants of the island, who were cut off from the rest of Greece and with the Venetians being indifferent in developing a cultural and social foundation, as they did in Zakynthos and Corfu, found it difficult to organize their social life and create their own cultural movement. In 1807 Lefkada is conquered by the imperial French only to fall in the hands of the British in 1810, who incorporate the island to United State of the Ionian Islands.
Lefkada was united with Greece on 21 May 1864.
