Ancient Gitana (Gitanae)

Gitana was built in the middle of the 4th century BC on the south-west slope of Mount Vrysella, above the valley of the river Thyamis, today's Kalamas, near the Kalamas dam. It followed Elea as the seat of the Thesprotian League and became one of the main economic and political centres of the Ionian region, with about 6,000 people. The Roman historian Livy mentions it as a meeting place of the League of the Epirotes, near Corfu and about ten miles from the coast. It was lived in for only two centuries: the Romans destroyed it in 167 BC and it was abandoned.

Today you can see the acropolis, the agora, the theatre, polygonal walls 2.5 km long in all, houses and part of the street network. The theatre stands just outside the west wall, in a hollow of the rocky hillside, facing the river. It was built in the middle of the 3rd century BC and was used very little after the Roman conquest. Excavations of the site began in 1996.

The site was opened to visitors in 2009 and has a permanent guard from the local Ephorate of Antiquities. Thick vegetation, the river and the ruins make it a striking place that few people know.