The Island of Ioannina is located in the east coast of Lake Pamvotis opposite the fortified castle, and occupies an area of 0.2 square kilometers. This relatively small area of the Island hosts a settlement as well as seven monasteries and had already been an important monastic center since the Byzantine era. The small settlement occupies the northern end of the island. According to tradition its inhabitants had originated from Mani and arrived here as exiles in the mid 16th century. Apart from the monasteries and the village the traveler will have the opportunity to visit the Museum of Pre-Revolutionary Period, housed in one of the cells of the monastery of St. Panteleimon and The Information Centre of Pamvotis Lake Management Institution
Museum of Pre-Revolutionary period

It is located on the Island of Ioannina, housed in one of the cells of the monastery of St. Panteleimon which was also the last refuge of Ali Pasha. The collection includes exhibits of the Ottoman period as well as items dating from the years of Ali Pasha’s dominance.

The Information Centre of Pamvotis Lake Management Institution
Τhe Information Centre of Lake Pamvotis Management Institution is located in the Isle of Ioannina. It is housed in a traditional preserved stone building, donated by the Holy Metropolis of Ioannina, completed in January 2012 and aims to become a contemporay media attraction for the environment of Lake Pamvotis and contribute to the protection and promotion of the protected area.
Monasteries on the Island of Ioannina

Monastery of St Nikolaos Filanthropinon
It was founded by the Philanthropinon family, one of the noble families of Constantinople who moved to Ioannina in 1204 after the conquest of the city by the Crusaders. It is the oldest monastery of the island founded before 1292, according to the lintel inscription of the main church of the katholikon.
The monastery flourished during the 16th century when it was renovated, expanded and had frescoes painted in the church. It received donations from traders that lived in Venice, as Zotos and ApostolisTsigaras. In general we can say that the monastery was distinguished for its intellectual status. Towards this direction contributed the fact that a School was operating in the same space, which was established by Michael Philanthropinos and remained in operation until 1756. Graduates of the school were, among others, monk Proklos and Komninos authors of the book “Background on various Despots of Epirus and the tyrant Thomas Komninos Preloumpos” and Nektarios and Epiphanius Apsaras, founders of the neighbouring monastery of St. John the Baptist. The katholikon houses one of the most remarkable post-Byzantine frescoes in Epirus, belonging either to the school of Ioannina or to the school of Thebes (due to the origin of the artists). In the last two periods of the katholikon hagiography (1542, 1560) date the works of widely known representatives of the faculty, Fraggos Katelanos and the brothers George and Fraggos Kontaris.

Strategopoulou or Diliou Monastery
On the west side of the island, just a short distance from the monastery of Philanthropinon, is the monastery of Diliou. Founders of the monastery are members of the profound family of Stratigopoulos who settled in Ioannina after the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. The nickname Diliou derives from the sponsorship of a wealthy citizen of Ioannina, G. Dilios who financed the restoration work in the monastery in 1700.
It was also named Despoton Monastery because in the 16th century it housed the famous school of Despots (Bishops), founder of which was the Despot of Epirus, Michail Angelos. In Diliou Monastery we can admire the buildings of the catholic (-13th- 11th century) and Igoumeneion, a later building dating to the 16th century.

Monastery of Panagia Eleousa
The assembly of the monastery of Panagia Eleousa (Mother Merciful) is just within a short distance from the monastery of Philanthropinon and Diliou. It was originally dedicated to St Nicholaos whilst since 16th century is referred to as monastery of Gkiouma or Gkioumaton after the homonymous mainland family of Venice, which had benefitted the monastery. According to others the monastery is dedicated since 1484 to Panagia Eleousa.
The monastery had experienced great prosperity during the second half of the 19th century under the supervision of abbot Abbakum. Monk Abbakum was common abbot both of the monasteries of Eleousa and Metamorphosis and founder of Abbakoumeian Seminary that was founded in 1872 and operated for 50 years. After the liberation of Epirus from the Ottomans, the seminary kept operating during the period 1924-1929.

Monastery of Metamorphosis tou Sotiros
The present assembly of the monastery of Metamorphosis tou Sotiros (Transfiguration of the Savior) had mainly operated in the second half of the 19th century. However, the existence of the monastery seal which dates back to 1656 proves that the monastic institution had existed there since at least the 17th century. Moreover, in the 17th century documents that are preserved in the archives of Venice, identified donations to the monastery by Panos Hieromnemon, a prominent merchant from Ioannina who lived in Venice. But the period of great prosperity of the institution should be placed in the second half of the 19th century, when it merged with the neighbouring monastery of Eleousa. In 1822 the place was destroyed by Albanians and was built again in 1850 at the initiative of abbot Abbakum. The active monk was also the founder of Abbakoumeion Seminary which run from 1872 to 1922 in the western part of the monastery.

Monastery of Prodromos
The monastery of Prodromos (St John the Baptist) lies on the east side of the island just a short distance from the village. The historical information for the foundation of the monastery is drawn from the autobiography of Theophanis and Nektarios Apsaras brothers, who originated from a mainland noble family, whose members held important positions in the city of Ioannina since the Byzantine era. According to Aravantinos, the family of Apsaras settled in Ioannina from the area of ​​the Kokkino Lithari of Thesprotia around 1350. Today just the catholicon and some cells have been preserved. The relics of the monastery include a portable icon depicting St John the Baptist as well as scenes from his life, a work painted by the Cretan painter Markos Bathas who lived and died in Venice.

Monastery of Saint Panteleimon
The monastery is on the east coast of the island, just off the Monastery of Prodromou. As delivered from the autobiography of Apsaras, at the same position there was a hermitage dedicated to Saint Panteleimon from the early 16th century when the Prodromou monastery was founded. The monastery is a three-aisled basilica with a flat wooden roof and consists of the nave, the sanctuary and the zenana. The church suffered considerable damage due to the landslide of rocks and was repaired in 1800 and 1815 by order of Ali Pasha.
The area was directly connected with Ali, who fled to the monastery in the last period of his siege by the sultan’s troops and was eventually murdered in the cells of the monastery in January 1822. After his death the soldiers of the Sultan looted and burnt the monastery which was rebuilt to the actual form and was classified as an historical monument in 1925.

Monastery of Prophet Elias
The monastery is built in the southern part of the settlement and not in contact with the lake. The historical data for the monastery is minimal. The original building of the church, which probably dated in the late Byzantine period, was destroyed by the sultan’s troops, in 1821-22.
The church was rebuilt a few years later, probably with the contribution of the guild of furriers, who had custody of the monastery during the second half of the 19th century. The new building incorporated the remains of the older church. The katholikon of the monastery includes a single-room church with a wooden roof, a closed narthex to the west with a well and small cell built south of the narthex.