Kónitsa

Kónitsa occupies a slope of the Pindus Mountains above the meeting of the Aoos and Voidomatis rivers. The surrounding country belonged in antiquity to the Molossians of Epirus, and forts guarded important positions in the time of King Pyrrhus. The town itself appears under its present name in the Chronicle of Ioannina, which records the strengthening of its castle in 1380 against an expected attack.

In the fifteenth century Kónitsa came under Ottoman rule and became part of the Sanjak of Ioannina. Some local Greek landowners embraced Islam while retaining their estates, and Christians and Muslims lived in the upper town. By the end of the eighteenth century a Greek school was operating under Georgios Mostras. Its work was interrupted during the turbulent rule of Ali Pasha, but Kosmas Thesprotos helped reopen it.