Having retained the memory of its imperial Byzantine history, Arta is today the grande dame of Epirus. It was once the capital of the Despotate of Epirus, an extensive Byzantine principality that maintained the national standing and radiance of the plundered empire even after Constantinople was seized by the Franks in 1204. The city also inherited the fine art of Byzantium, as imprinted in the iconic church of Panagia Parigoritissa (Virgin Mary of Consolation), the Vlachera monastery and the queen consort’s church, Agia Theodora. Built on the ruins of ancient Ambracia, a Corinthian colony of the 7th century BC, and next to the impressive Molossian acropolis of Orraon, Arta was occupied by a series of conquerors who left their mark and were touched by its free-thinking, courageous inhabitants. It is known for the legendary bridge over the Arachthos River, connecting distinctive landscapes, histories and ways of life- its flat, aquatic section with the Tzoumerka mountains. The city combines and oversees a culturally and ecologically privileged region with important wetlands and mountain ecosystems, magnificent traditional settlements, monasteries, stone bridges and churches. Modern-day Arta has healed the wounds of the arduous 1940s and losses to emigration, and now highlights its rich, diachronic historical and architectural heritage as it develops and promotes the natural and cultural gems of the charismatic region extending from the Ambracian Gulf to the Tzoumerka mountain range.