Arta ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Άρτας) is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...

. It is part of the

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

region. Its capital is the town of Arta.

Geography

The regional unit of Arta is located north of the

Ambracian Gulf The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf ( el, Αμβρακικός κόλπος, translit=Amvrakikos kolpos), is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Gre ...

. The main mountain ranges are the Athamanika in the northeast, the

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...

in the east, and Valtou in the southeast. Only one mountain road links Arta with the Pineios valley and

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

. There are low-lying agricultural plains in the west. Arta borders on the regional units of

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

in the west,

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

to the north,

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

in the east,

Karditsa Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of region of Thessaly. Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BC. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, th ...

to the east and

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...

to the south. The main rivers are the Acheloos in the east, the

Arachthos Arachthos ( el, Άραχθος) is a former municipality in the Arta regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nikolaos Skoufas Nikolaos Skoufas ( el, Νικόλαος Σκουφάς; 17 ...

in the centre, and the

Louros Louros ( el, Λούρος) is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municip ...

in the west. Most of the population lives in the west, in the Arachthos valley, south and east of Arta. The Athamanika and Valtou mountains are the least populated.

Administration

The regional unit Arta is subdivided into 4 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): * Arta (1) * Central Tzoumerka (''Kentrika Tzoumerka'', 3) *

Georgios Karaiskakis Georgios Karaiskakis ( el, Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), born Georgios Karaiskos ( el, Γεώργιος Καραΐσκος; 1782 – 1827), was a famous Greece, Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence. ...

(2) *

Nikolaos Skoufas Nikolaos Skoufas ( el, Νικόλαος Σκουφάς; 1779 – July 31, 1818) was a founding member of the Filiki Eteria ("Society of Friends"), a Greek conspiratorial organization against the Ottoman Empire. (''retrieved from University of C ...

(4)

Prefecture

Arta was established as a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

in 1882 ( el, Νομός Άρτας). As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Arta was created out of the former prefecture Arta. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below. Nomos Artas 2012

History

Arta was one of the capitals of the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus ( gkm, Δεσποτᾶτον τῆς Ἠπείρου) was one of the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It clai ...

in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The territory of the regional unit was ceded to Greece in 1881 by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, along with

, in accordance with the 1878

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

. A famous landmark of Arta is the Old Bridge over the Arachthos river.

Transport

As one of the first completed sections of the future

Ionia Odos The Greek Motorway 5 ( el, Αυτοκινητόδρομος 5; code: A5) is a motorway in Greece. The motorway, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos ( el, Ιόνια Οδός) or Ionia Motorway, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastl ...

linking

with

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 ...

and

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

, the motorway bypass of the GR-5 around Arta was opened in 1997. The main highways are: *

Greek National Road 5 National Road 5 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 5, abbreviated as EO5) is a single carriageway road in western Greece. It connects Antirrio, at the north end of the Rio-Antirrio bridge, with Ioannina in northwestern Greece, passing through Agrinio a ...

/ E55, S, Cen., W *

Greek National Road 21 Greek National Road 21 is a national highway of northwestern Greece. It connects Preveza with Greek National Road 5 near Filippiada Filippiada ( el, Φιλιππιάδα) is a small town and a former municipality in the Preveza regional unit, E ...

, W *

Greek National Road 30 National Road 30 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 30, abbreviated as EO30) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the cities of Arta and Volos, via Trikala and Karditsa. Route The western end of the Greek National Road 30 is i ...

, Cen., E

Sporting teams

Anagennisi Artas Anagennisi Arta Football Club ( el, Π.Α.Ε. Γ.Α.Σ. Αναγέννηση Άρτας) is a Greek football club, based in Arta, in the North-West part of Greece. The emblem of the team depicts the historical bridge of Arta. The club was establi ...

People

* Pyrrhus (318 BC-272 BC) general and king of Epirus * Epicrates of Ambracia, 4th BC comic poet * Silanus of Ambracia * Epigonus of Ambracia 6th-5th BC musician * Georgios Karaiskakis Years of service 1796 - 1827 Rank - General, Battles/wars Greek War of Independence * Maximus the Greek (c. 1475-1556) publicist, writer, scholar, humanist and translator * Napoleon Zervas (1891–1957) * Theodoros Tzinis * Nikolaos Skoufas * Yannis Makriyannis * Kostas Kristallis poet * Yiannis Moralis (1916) painter * Antonios Nikopolidis (1971) footballer * Yannis Anastasiou (1973) footballer * Nikos Rizos (1924 - April 20, 1999), actor

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20040602225531/http://www.culture.gr/maps/ipiros/arta/arta.html {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece Regional units in Epirus (region)