The Museum

Built during the 15^th century on the Island of Ioannina, the hospitable Monastery of Saint Pantaleon, where Ali Pasha was killed and decapitated by the sultan’s troops on February 5, 1822, served as home to the Museum of the Pre-Revolutionary Period that was founded in 1958 by enlightened residents of the city. This is where the Museum of Ali Pasha and the Revolutionary Period has been accommodated since 2012, where visitors can marvel at the rich private collection of Fotis Rapakousis’ family.

The permanent exhibitions of the museum include unique historical relics, such as the famous gold-plated kariofili (rifle) of Ali Pasha (1804), the silver sword of national benefactor Apostolos Arsakis (1813), the genuine silk dress of Kyra-Vassiliki (Ali Pasha’s wife), the famed 1.62metre-long tsimbouki (water pipe) of Ali Pasha, or curtains with an embroidered monograph (tughra) by Sultan Mahmud II (1808–1839).

Overshadowed by an imposing 700-year-old plane tree, the exquisite surrounding area of the museum also features the caves where famous holy men lived in the past, like ascetic Saint Savvas the Sanctified (15^th c.), priest-monks Theophanes and Nektarios Apsarades who founded the Varlaam Monastery in Meteora (15^th c.–first half of the 16^th c.), and many others. These caves also served as refuge for the Island’s residents, who hid there in November 1940 in their effort to protect themselves against the air-raids of Italy during WWII.