Tag: greece

Achilleion – Princess Sissi’s Palace

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Achilleion Palace was built in Gastouri, Corfu, in 1890 by Empress of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Princess Sissi, and was her favourite vacation place.

The story of Achilles became an obsession of the Princess Elizabeth, so the palace was designed with the mythical hero Achilles as its central theme. There are many statues of Achilles around the grounds and paintings of him inside the house. The most impressive statue is the Dying of Achilles, a colossal bronze work that dominates the far end of the gardens.

During the First and Second World War the palace was abandoned and used as hospital and school. Today, after years of rebuilding, the palace is finally restored to its former beauty.

 

For the cinemaddicts: the Achilleion having been used as a location for the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.

 

Gear: Canon EOS 6D,  Canon EF 16-35mm F/4L IS USM and  Canon EF 70-200mm F/2,8L IS II USM

 

Sunset in Santorini

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Santorini is a beautiful Greek island remnant of a volcanic caldera and renowned for its wonderful sunsets.

Here the first part of gallery of Santorini Island, with some shots taken at sunset hour.

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D,  Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM

Old Fortress – Corfu (Kerkyra)

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The Old Castle is the best known and most famous castle in Corfu. It dates back to the Byzantine period but the main fortification was built by the Venetians.

It is very well preserved, and so, great place to visit, but unfortunately none of the buildings constructed by the Venetians survived until today, and the buildings which you will see in the castle today were constructed by the British much later.

The church of St. George is one of the buildings constructed by the British in the style of a Doric temple.

The Fortress houses the Public library of Corfu and the Hellenic Music Research Lab of the Ionian University in the old British barracks.

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D,  Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM

Paleokastritsa Monastery

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On a hill above the beach of Paleokastritsa in Corfù there is a Monastery, excellent example of Greek monastic architecture.

Inside has a small ecclesiastical museum with rare Byzantine icons, holy books and other relics. Very interesting to see, also the chapel and beautiful courtyards.

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D,  Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

Paleokastritsa – Corfù (Greece)

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The bay of Paleokastritsa is in the North West of Corfu, with his amazing beaches and cristal clear sea.

Paleokastritsa is a small village where the epic poem the Odyssey,  tells that legendary Odysseus (Ulysses) disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time.

A great view and a lovely place to visit and to have a coffee or a lunch, is the La Grotta (grotto) beach bar. This is situated in a tiny little cove with crystal clear, very deep and icy cold water.

There is maybe 100 stairs to go down and up, but a, highly recommended if you are on the island.

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D and Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

Canal d’Amour – Sidari (Corfù)

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Nearby to the village of Sidari, in Corfù island (Greece) there is an idyllic area with unique rock formations that form a series of wonderful coves and canals, with beautiful crystalline waters.

The rocks run in different shades of yellow and lots of greenery at the top.  The famous beach Channel of Love (known as Canal d’ Amour).

The famous beach Channel of Love (known as Canal d’ Amour) is one of the most unique spots in Corfu. According to the tradition couples who swim through the narrow canal will get married soon. 

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D and Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

Parga (Greece) by day

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The small town of Parga, with its colorful houses  is the most popular summer destination in Epirus region in Greece.

An amazing green islet with a white church stands at the entrance of the port, while the ruined walls of a Venetian castle can be seen on top of a hill above the town.

It’s no wonder this place is as popular with the Greeks as it is with foreign holidaymakers.

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D with Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM and Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC

Meteora (Μετέωρα) – Suspended in the air

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Meteora is one of the largest and most important complexes of  Orthodox monasteries, and one of the most surreal, beautiful and breathtaking natural landscape in Greece, and I think, in the world.

The Metéora is in the Plain of Thessaly in central Greece. The nearest town is Kalambaka, and is included on the UNESCO World Heritageat.

From the 11th century onwards, twenty-four monasteries were built, despite incredible difficulties, at the time of the great revival of the eremetic ideal in the 15th century. They were created to serve monks and nuns following the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Today six of these monasteries are still intact and active, and two of these are inhabited by nuns.

 

This is the first part of a large photo gallery of Meteora. In the next days I publish other six galleries with more shots of Meteora and of his monasteries.

 

Gear: Canon Eos 6D with Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II, Canon Eos M with Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM