Lefkada

Lefkada owns its name to the white (leukos in Greek) rocks that characterize the southern part of the island, the cape of Lefkata.
The name of Lefkada was first given to the town and then to the entire island.


During the 3rd century BC, the island of Lefkada became part of the Acarnanian Federation along with a part of the mainland.
In 230 BC, it allied with the Macedonians to repress the Roman attacks but the Romans won and, in 198 BC, the island came under Roman domination and became part of the Roman province of Nikopolis.

The Venetian domination ended in 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte and his troupes conquered Venice; with the treaty of Kamboformio, the island of Lefkada became part of the French State.

In 1799 the allied fleet of the Turks, the Russian and the English won the French and conquered Lefkada.

According to mythology, the poetess Sappho fell from these white rocks because she wasn’t able to endure the torture of her love for Phaon.
Corinthians colonised the island during the 7th century BC and built the new town of Lefkas and, in 650 BC, they started the construction of the canal that separates Lefkada from the mainland, turning Lefkada into an island.

During this period the island was constituted of many autonomous cities which flourished over the years.

Lefkada played a role in the Persians Wars and participated to the battles with the other Greek cities; the island sent three ships to help during the famous Battle of Salamina, in 480 BC as well as 800 men to fight in the battle of Plataeae.

Lefkada also participated in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) helping its mother-city, Corinth, which was with the Spartans.

In 343 BC, the island allied with the Athenians in order to fight the Macedonians (whom king was Philip II) but Athens was beaten and Lefkada fell under Macedonian rule.

The island became independent only in 312 BC.


Lefkada became part of the province of Achaia during the Byzantine Period and suffered from various pirate attacks due to its strategic position.

During the 6th century AD, Lefkada was included into the “Scheme of Kefalonia” and became, after a temporary overthrow by the crusaders, part of the Dominion of Epirus.

When the Franks conquered Constantinople, in 1204, Lefkada came under their domination but changed for Sicilian rule in 1294 when the bishop Nikiforos A’ Angelos gave the island as a dory to his daughter who married the Sicilian Giovanni Orsini. Lefkada was ruled by the Orsini Family until 1331 who built the fortress of Agia Mavra.

After that, Lefkada came under the domination of various dynasties until 1479 when it was conquered by the Turks who ruled on the island until 1684.

Then, the island came under the rule of the Venetians who were under the commands of Morozini.

During this period the capital of Lefkada was moved to its present location and the economy prospered with the development of trade and navigation.

The “Ionian State” was established in Constantinople on March 1800 with the aim to create the Septinsular Republic but the attempt failed in 1807 because the island returned under French rule again.

This period was a period of prosperity and great agricultural improvements for the island.
In parallel the English started occupying the other Ionian Islands and managed to occupy Lefkada in 1810; this occupation became official with the Treaty of Paris that was signed in 1815.

During the English domination Greek language became official, new network of roads were built and the town’s water supply was organised and ameliorated. The official English occupation didn’t last for long but the English Protection of the Ionian Islands lasted until 1864.

During the English rule and Protection, Lefkada and the other Ionian Islands helped the rest of Greece which was still under Turkish rule.

In the 21st May of 1864 a treaty was signed proclaiming the unification of the Ionian Islands (among which is Lefkada) with the independent and newly born Greek State.