Restoration of Pirsinela Park

Ioannina 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 city population was 65,574, while the municipality had 112,486 inhabitants. It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 metres above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis. Ioannina is located 410 km (255 mi) northwest of Athens, 260 kilometres (162 miles) southwest of Thessaloniki and 80 km (50 miles) east of the port of Igoumenitsa in the Ionian Sea. The city's foundation has traditionally been ascribed to the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, but modern archaeological research has uncovered evidence of Hellenistic settlements. Ioannina flourished in the late Byzantine period (13th–15th centuries). It became part of the Despotate of Epirus following the Fourth Crusade and many wealthy Byzantine families fled there following the sack of Constantinople, with the city experiencing great prosperity and considerable autonomy, despite the political turmoils. Ioannina surrendered to the Ottomans in 1430 and until 1868 it was the administrative center of the Pashalik of Yanina. In the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment. Ioannina was ceded to Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars In recent times, the city has become the centre of three particular functions. It is home to two large regional hospitals. Over the last decade, the university and technical college have fused, to create the University of Ioannina with a 30,000 strong student body. Finally, it is home to a number of key agricultural activities including poultry (~70% of Greece’s demands), dairy products (representing a large share of the Greek market) and mineral water (~50% of Greece’s market). The territorial economy is an important vector for change. While roads have opened to both Athens and Thessaloniki in the last years, cutting travel from a full day down to a few hours, and the airport has gained more regular schedule, Ioannina’s age-old spirit persists. There is a fairly reactive approach to problems. Tourism is poorly defined and there is a serious risk that mass-tourism will bring more trouble than it is worth. There is attraction from European business to build on the city’s university and educated graduates yet there are no clear programs for hosting new business. The two large regional institutions, the hospitals and the university, are largely disconnected from the old city. Finally, there is a challenge to inspire social entrepreneurship, where the community plays a larger role in developing projects that concern them.