Thesprotia (Greek: Θεσπρωτία) is one of the prefectures
of Greece. It is within the Epirus periphery. The capital is
Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is bounded by Albania to the north, the
prefecture of Ioannina to the east and Preveza in the south. It is
one of the smallest Greek prefectures in population. There are three
rural inhabitants for every two urban citizens [1].
The provinces are small and there are four of them.
Much of the prefecture is mountainous while farmlands
most of them with gridded roads and ditches are within the valleys
in the central, southern and the western part. Two of Thesprotia's
rivers are legendary: The Kalamas River (Thiames) and Acheron, lined
with reedbeds and plane trees.
A new highway, Greece Interstate 4 called Via Egnatia,
which began construction in 1996 links all the way to Thessaloniki.
The construction was fully paved in the 2000s. Via Egnatia was first
opened to traffic in 2004 with thousands of people cheering and
celebrating the opening as they stand next to the superhighway south
of Igoumenitsa. A possible bridge to Corfu is currently unplanned
and unscheduled. Main roads are GR-19 and GR-6.
The port of Igoumenitsa is overlooked by its Venetian fortress;
it serves ferry routes to the islands of Corfu and Paxoi (includes
Paxos and Antipaxos).