Ampelokipoi on Zakynthos: Village Character and History

Ampelokipoi is a rural village in the interior of Zakynthos. Olive and wine production shape its character and landscape. Assess the specific features of individual hotels based on their respective offers.

The village’s former name and local remembrance

The village was formerly also known as Roido; Zakynthians still call it that. If you come across both names, they refer to the same village: Roido is a former name of Ampelokipoi that is still in use. The history of the name is therefore a distinct point of reference for finding your way around, alongside the village’s agricultural character.

A marble monument commemorating villagers who fell in the war was erected in the courtyard of the Church of Agios Nikolaos in 1984. The year anchors the monument in local history, while its dedication remembers the villagers. In Ampelokipoi, the agricultural landscape and a specific historical point of reference thus stand side by side.

Zakynthos as a wider travel destination

On Zakynthos, other cultural themes provide additional points of reference; they belong to the wider travel destination, not to Ampelokipoi’s village profile. The Museum of Zakynthos displays works of the Cretan School, Cretan-Ionian icons, and works of Ionian Naturalism from the 15th to the 19th century. In the Museum of Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians, a mausoleum on the ground floor has housed the remains of national poets Andreas Kalvos and Dionysios Solomos since 1968. These examples highlight different aspects: one draws attention to artistic movements spanning several centuries, while the other focuses on the remains of two poets.

Zakynthos also offers a variety of landscape and viewpoint attractions. The Blue Caves are located in the Aspros Vrachos area at Cape Skinari. Lake Keri is a wetland protected under the Ramsar Convention, a Natura site, and a nature reserve within the Zakynthos National Marine Park. The Keri Lighthouse is known for panoramic views of the Ionian Sea and the Myzithres rocks at sunset. These places can be distinguished by what they offer: a location among caves, a wetland’s protected status, or a sunset panorama.

Another distinct point of reference on Zakynthos is Volimes. The Monastery of Agios Georgios sta Gremna was founded there in 1535. In Volimes, Zakynthian Ladotyri cheese is made in dairies and home workshops and sold as a local product. The port of Agios Nikolaos is also in Volimes: it is a seaport and connects Zakynthos to Kefalonia by ferry. If island-hopping is part of your trip, check the schedule for your travel dates. In addition to the ferry connection to Kefalonia, a road in the wider region also runs from the area of Zakynthos International Airport to Laganas, one of the island’s most important holiday resorts.

Discover more destinations: Xirokastello, Kallithea, Korithi, Chartata, Kalamaki, Kipseli, Keri, Askos.

For the wider travel overview: Zakynthos.