TECHNICAL PROGRAM
| Day 1: Sunday, September 8 | |
| 12:00 – 18:00 | Conference Registration (Hotel Reception Hall) |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Opening Remarks Maria I. Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Keynote Lecture I Microbiome data science: from earth microbiome to global virome Nikos Kyrpides, DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA |
| 16:00 – 18:30 | General Session 1 – Modeling Microbial Systems Session Chair: Kristel Bernaerts, KU Leuven, Belgium |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Invited Lecture 1: Feedback control of microbial consortia Davide Fiore, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy |
| 16:30 – 16:50 | OP1: Spatiotemporal modeling of a synthetic microbial community during colony expansion Asli Sahin, Estelle Pignon, Yolanda Schaerli, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| 16:50 – 17:10 | OP2: A Pipeline for Calibrating Agent-Based Models of Microbial Populations Atiyeh Ahmadi, Aaron Yip, Jonathan Chalaturnyk, Marc Aucoin, Brian P. Ingalls, University of Waterloo, Canada |
| 17:10 – 17:40 | Coffee Break |
| 17:40 – 18:00 | OP3: Comprehensive theory of (microbial) community growth in constraint-based modeling Stefan Müller, Marianne Mießkes, Juergen Zanghellini, Diana Széliová, University of Vienna, Austria |
| 18:00 – 18:30 | Invited Lecture 2: Zymomics: A One-Stop Omics Database of Zymomonas mobilis Shihui Yang, Hubei University, China |
| 18:30 – 19:00 | Invited Lecture 3: Taming the genomic era and democratising bioinformatics to face biodiversity challenges Tereza Manousaki, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Greece |
| 19:00 – 20:00 | FOSBE AWARD PRESENTATION Chairs: Maria I. Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece; Alejandro Vignoni, Technical University of Valencia, Spain Synthetic Biology and Biosystems Control Jesus Pico, Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| 20:30 – | Welcome Reception |
| Day 2: Monday, September 9 | |
| 08:45 – 12:30 | Conference Registration (Hotel Reception Hall) |
| 09:00 – 11:10 | General Session 2 – Synthetic Biology Session Chair: Alejandro Vignoni,Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Invited Lecture 4: Robots & DNA: The Edinburgh Genome Foundry Rennos Fragkoudis, The Edinburgh Genome Foundry, UK |
| 09:30 – 09:50 | OP4: Designing high-performance whole cell biosensors by integrating Synthetic Biology with Control Engineering Virginia Fusco, Davide Fiore, Mario di Bernardo, Diego di Bernardo, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy |
| 09:50 – 10:10 | OP5: DBTL bioengineering cycle for part characterization and refactoring Mario Andres Arboleda-Garcia, Martin Stiebritz, Yadira Boada, Jesús Picó, Alejandro Vignoni, Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| 10:10 – 10:30 | OP6: Controlling gene-expression variability via sequestration-based feedbacks Supravat Dey, Cesar Augusto Vargas-Garcia, Abhyudai Singh, University of Delaware, USA |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | OP7: Marginal Percentile Intervals in Bayesian Inference are Overconfident Sebastian Höpfl, Hans Michael Tautenhahn, Vincent Wagner, Nicole Radde, University of Stuttgart, Germany |
| 10:50 – 11:10 | Coffee Break |
| 11:10 – 12:10 | Panel Discussion 1 – Systems & Synthetic Biology: Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Moderator: Livija Deban, Prokarium, UK) Panelists: Alejandro Vignoni, Technical University of Valencia, Spain Nikos Kyrpides, DOE JGI, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, USA Marc Biarnes Carrera, Prokarium, UK Traci Haddock, Asimov Inc., USA Massimo Lai, Astrazeneca, USA Spyros Vernardis, Eliptica Limited, UK |
| 12:30 – 17:30 | Excursion in the Island by bus including Lunch |
| 18:00 – 18:45 | FRONTIERS IN SYSTEMS BIOLOGY YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD ASSOCIATED WITH FOSBE 2024 Chair: Maria I. Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| 18:00 – 18:20 | Frontiers in Systems Biology: Breaking Down Silos and Integrating Datasets, Toolsets, and Mindsets in Partnership with FOSBE | Inauguration of the Young Investigator Award Yoram Vodovotz, Field Chief Editor & Thomas C. Collin, Journal Manager |
| 18:00 – 18:45 | AWARD PRESENTATION Computational Inference of Chemokine-Mediated Roles for the Vagus Nerve in Modulating Intra- and Inter-Tissue Inflammation Ashti Shah, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| 18:45 – 21:00 | POSTER SESSION I – Pitches & Presentations Chair: Spyridon (Spyros) Aleiferis, Complexity Cybernetics SPPC, Greece |
| 18:45 – 19:30 | 1.5 min oral pitches by main presenter in the main conference room |
| 19:30 – 21:00 | Poster Session I + Wine & Cheese Buffet |
| Day 3. Tuesday, September 10 | |
| 08:45 – 13:00 | Conference Registration (Hotel Reception Hall) |
| 09:00 – 11:10 | General Session 3 – Methods and Tools Session Chair: Steffen Waldherr, University of Vienna, Austria |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Invited Lecture 5: ASIMOV: Intelligent design of living systems Traci Haddock, Asimov Inc., USA |
| 09:30 – 09:50 | OP 8: Generative Machine Learning Methods for Parameterizing Nonlinear Dynamic Models of Cellular Metabolism Ljubisa Miskovic, Subhan Choudhury, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| 09:50 – 10:10 | OP9: DBTL Coarse-grained models: basics and applications in systems biology and bio-process engineering Andreas Kremling, Technical University of Munich, Germany |
| 10:10 – 10:30 | OP10: Reducing Genome-Scale Models using Network Topology Information and Transcriptomics Diego Troitiño-Jordedo, Anis Mansouri, Romain Minebois, Amparo Querol, Daniel Remondini, Eva Balsa-Canto, IIM-CSIC, Spain |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | OP11: Adapting tree algorithms for partial enumeration of Extreme Pathways sets Wannes Mores, Satyajeet Bhonsale, Filip Logist, Jan F.M. van Impe, KU Leuven, Belgium |
| 10:50 – 11:10 | OP12: Low-dimensional representation of genome-scale metabolism Samuel Cain, Charlotte Merzbacher, Diego A. Oyarzún, University of Edinburgh, UK |
| 11:10 – 11:30 | Coffee Break |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Panel Discussion 2 – Systems & Synthetic Biology: What about training, funding and publishing? (Moderator: Maria I. Klapa) Panelists: John Hancock, Co-leader of ELIXIR Systems Biology Community, U. of Ljubljana, Slovenia Jesus Pico, IFAC TC 8.4 Leader, Technical University of Valencia, Spain Ioannis (Yannis) Androulakis, Rutgers University, USA Thomas C. Collin, Frontiers in Systems Biology Ashti Shah, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, USA |
| 12:30 – 15:00 | POSTER SESSION II – Pitches & Presentations Chair: Yadira Boada, Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| 12:30 – 13:15 | 1.5 min oral pitches by main presenter in the main conference room |
| 13:15 – 15:00 | POSTER SESSION II + Lunch Buffet |
| 15:00 – 18:00 | General Session 4 – Control in Biology Session Chair: Jesus Pico, Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| 15:00 – 15:20 | OP 13: Multicellular PID Control of Gene Expression in Microbial Consortia Vittoria Martinelli, Davide Salzano, Davide Fiore, Mario di Bernardo, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy |
| 15:20 – 15:40 | OP14: Optimizing Fed-Batch Processes with Dynamic Control Flux Balance Analysis Mathias Gotsmy, Dafni Giannari, Radhakrishnan Mahadevan, Juergen Zanghellini, University of Vienna, Austria |
| 15:40 – 16:00 | OP15: Linking intra- and extra-cellular metabolic domains via neural-network surrogates for dynamic metabolic control Sebastián Espinel-Ríos, Jose L. Avalos, Princeton University, USA |
| 16:00 – 16:20 | OP16: Robust Model Predictive Control of a Vaccine Production Unit Micaela Benavides, Laurent Dewasme, Pascal Gerkens, Gaël de Lannoy, Alain Vande Wouwer, University de Mons, Belgium |
| 16:20 – 17:00 | Coffee Break |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Invited Lecture 6: T-cell engagers: some lessons learned from a minimal mechanistic model of trimer formation Massimo Lai, Astrazeneca, UK |
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Invited Lecture 7: It’s all about time! The critical role of circadian rhythms in regulating health, disease, and pharmacology Ioannis (Yannis) Androulakis, Rutgers University, USA |
| 18:00 – 19:00 | Keynote Lecture II Session Chair: John Hancock, U. of Ljubljana, Slovenia Two Decades of BioModels: Promoting FAIR Sharing and Reproducibility of Computational Models in the Life Sciences Sheriff Malik Rahuman, European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), UK |
| 19:30 – | Guided Tour of the Old Town of Corfu (Unesco Monument) + Gala Dinner in Corfu town |
| Day 4. Wednesday, September 11 | |
| 09:00 – 11:30 | General Session 5 – Systems biology for Health Session Chair: Yannis Androulakis, Rutgers University, USA |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Invited Lecture 8: Computational Identification of Cancer Immunotherapy Targets Barbara Szomolay, Cardiff University, UK |
| 09:30 – 09:50 | OP17: Modelling Rate of Exogenous Glucose Appearance for Biomedical Applications Using Conditional Generative Models Josep Noguer, Ivan Contreras, Aleix Beneyto, Josep Vehi, University of Gerona, Spain |
| 09:50 – 10:10 | OP18: Investigating differences in the GWAS-based protein-protein interaction network of blood pressure regulation due to ancestry or transcript consequence severity Evridiki-Pandora Tsare, Maria I. Klapa, Nicholas K. Moschonas, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| 10:10 – 10:30 | OP19: Multi-omics analysis unveils the impact of DEHP on metabolic disorders: Insights from OBERON’s in vivo and in vitro results Thanasis Papageorgiou, Nafsika Papaioannou, Ilias Frydas, Catherine Gabriel, Dayna Schultz, Talía Boronat-Belda, Hilda Ferrero, Ruba Al-Abdulla, Charbel Touma, Hélène Le Mentec, Dominique Lagadic-Gossmann, Spyros Karakitsios, Normand Podechard, Paloma Alonso-Magdalena, Sophie Langouet, Karine Audouze, Ourania Anesti, Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Invited Lecture 9: Living Cures: building a programmable therapeutic platform for optimization and delivery of immunostimulatory proteins Marc Biarnes Carrera, Georgia Petsiou, Oluwatobiloba Oke, Marko Storch, Nicholas Glanville, Livija Deban, Prokarium, UK |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Award Ceremony & Closing Remarks Chairs: Maria I. Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece; Kristel Bernaerts, KU Leuven, Belgium; Alejandro Vignoni, Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| POSTER SESSION I | |
| P1.1 | in silico Functional Comparison of the Leaf Microbiome by Reducing Metabolic Complexity Evangelia Vayena, Alan Pacheco, Julia Vorholt, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P1.2 | Shining Light on Single-Cell Dynamics and Heterogeneity: Design and Analysis of a Hybrid Population Model for an Epigenetic Memory System Viviane Klingel, Nicole Radde, University of Stuttgart, Germany |
| P1.3 | From Receptors to Metabolism: Reconstruction and Analysis of Information Flow in Large-Scale Signaling Networks David Liaskos, Maria Masid Barcon, Omid Oftadeh, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P1.4 | Model-Based Optimization of Yeast Batch Fermentation: Toward a Digital Twin for the Winemaking Industry Artai Rodríguez Moimenta, Romain Minebois, Lainy Ramirez Aroca, Amparo Querol, Eva Balsa-Canto, CSIC, Spain |
| P1.5 | Engineering Zymomonas mobilis for Bioplastic Precursors Production Qiaoning He, Hubei University, China (to be presented by Shihui Yang, Hubei U. China) |
| P1.6 | Identification of New Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in E. coli through Network Diffusion Anis Mansouri, Francesco Durazzi, Muhammad Ahmed Ishan, Frederique Pasquali, Vasilis Valdramidis, Daniel Remondini, University of Bologna, Italy |
| P1.7 | Comparative System Identification of the Refuge Tracking Behavior in Weakly Electric Fish Eren Cem Goksuluk, Onurcan Yilmaz, Ismail Uyanik, Hacettepe University, Turkey |
| P1.8 | Nonlinear Dynamic Models Assisted Design of Recombinant Strains Bharath Narayanan, Daniel Weilandt, Maria Masid Barcon, Ljubisa Miskovic, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P1.9 | Non-Negative Universal Differential Equations With Applications in Systems Biology Maren Philipps, Antonia Körner, Jakob Vanhoefer, Dilan Pathirana, Jan Hasenauer, University of Bonn, Germany |
| P1.10 | Reconstructing Metabolic Interaction Networks in Microbial Communities Omid Oftadeh, Asli Sahin, Evangelia Vayena, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P1.11 | Improved Characterization of Multi-Sugar Growth Behavior by Model-Based Evaluation Ana Helena Valdeira Caetano, Philipp Pably, Peter Sinner, Julian Kager, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark |
| P1.12 | Extending a Synthetic Notch Morphogen Circuit Model to Construct 2D Cell Structures Amatus Beyer, Vincent Wagner, Viviane Klingel, Michael Heymann, Nicole Radde, University of Stuttgart, Germany |
| P1.13 | Decoding Lactobacillus bulgaricus Metabolism: Insights from a Dynamic Genome-Scale Model Geoffrey Roudaut, Francesco Moro, Bas Teusink, Eva Balsa-Canto, CSIC, Spain |
| P1.14 | Correction of Microalgae Size Distribution Estimations Using Mie Scattering Theory Michiel Busschaert, Florence H. Vermeire, Steffen Waldherr, University of Vienna, Austria |
| P1.15 | Towards a Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of Dunaliella salina Emanuel Cunha, Vitor Sousa, António Vicente, Pedro Geada, Oscar Dias, University of Minho, Portugal |
| P1.16 | A Multi-omics Approach for Understanding Grape Metabolism Throughout Development Marta Sampaio, Miguel Rocha, Oscar Dias, University of Minho, Portugal (to be presented by Emanuel Cunha) |
| P1.17 | Reconstructing and Analyzing the Experimentally-Supported Binary Protein-Protein Interaction Network of Moorella thermoacetica, an Anaerobe of Industrial Interest Vasiliki Savvopoulou, Maria Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| P1.18 | Investigating a Pilot-Scale Process Sustainability Integrating CO2 Capture with Its Bioconversion for Carbon Footprint Decrease of Lignite-Based Power Plants Eugene Skouras, Vasiliki Savvopoulou, Ioannis Aviziotis, Dionysios Vroulias, Anastasia Petsi, Vassilios Dracopoulos, Theophilos Ioannides, Ioannis Zois, Maria I. Klapa, Vassilis Burganos, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| P1.19 | Analysis and Reduction of a Dynamic Model of Phage Attack Dynamics in Cheese-Making Michèle Bou Habib, Emmanuel Bernuau, Benjamín José Sánchez, Jannik Vindeloev, Dominique Swennen, Ioan-Cristian Trelea, INRAE, France |
| P1.20 | Metabolomics in Systems Agrobiotechnology & Ecology for High Sensitivity Monitoring of Plant Physiology Georgia Tooulakou, Maria I Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| P1.21 | Mutualistic Bacterial Relationships in Cheese Microbial Communities: Exploring Interactions through Kernel-Based Multi-Omics Data Integration Rina Mekuli, Mitja Briscik, Sophie Landaud, Sébastien Déjean, Dominique Swennen, INRAE, France |
| P1.22 | Model Predictive Control of dissolved oxygen level in an intermittent fed-batch process Philipp Pably, Jakob Kjøbsted Huusom, Julian Kager, Technical U of Denmark, Denmark |
| P1.23 | Machine Learning-Led Medium Optimization Uncovers High Salinity As an Enhancer for Biochemical Production of Flaviolin in P. putida Apostolos Zournas, Matthew Incha, Tijana Radivojevic, Daniel Chung, Hector Garcia-Martin, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA |
| POSTER SESSION II | |
| P2.1 | Feasibility of Gene Regulatory Network Inference under Different Noise Conditions Michael Saint-Antoine, Abhyudai Singh, University of Delaware, USA |
| P2.2 | Bioinformatic Workflow for Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics of Yeast: State of Art and Perspectives Luca De Martino, Fabrizio Mastrorocco, Clara Musicco, Graziano Pesole, Ernesto Picardi, Sergio Giannattasio, CNR-IBIOM, Italy |
| P2.3 | Metabolic Kinetic Modeling Unveils Pivotal Enzymes in Cancer Cell Metabolism Ilias Toumpe, Maria Masid Barcon, Bharath Narayanan, Ljubisa Miskovic, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P2.4 | Foliar Uptake Models for Biocides: Testing Practical Identifiability of Diffusion Based Models Enrico Sangoi, Federica Cattani, Faheem Padia, Federico Galvanin, University College London, UK |
| P2.5 | Ratiometric Control of Two Microbial Populations in a Dual Chamber Bioreactor Sara Maria Brancato, Davide Salzano, Davide Fiore, Giovanni Russo, Mario di Bernardo, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy |
| P2.6 | A Systematic Mixed Integer Linear Programming Approach for the Solution of Large-Scale Metabolism and Protein Expression (ME-) Models Omid Oftadeh, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P2.7 | Robust Parameter Estimation and Identifiability Analysis with Hybrid Neural ODEs in Computational Biology Stefano Giampiccolo, Federico Reali, Iacca Giovanni, Luca Marchetti, University of Trento, Italy |
| P2.8 | From Genes to Metabolites to Diseases: A Multiomics Analysis of Tributyltin-Exposed Adipocytes and the Link to Metabolic Syndrome Dayna Schultz, Ilias Frydas, Nafsika Papaioannou, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Catherine Gabriel, Spyros Karakitsios, Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece |
| P2.9 | Modeling Principles for a Physiology-Based Whole-Body Model of Human Metabolism Laura Hjort Blicher, Peter Emil Carstensen, Jacob Bendsen, Henrik Lindén, Kim Kristensen, Bjørn Olav Hald, John Bagterp Jorgensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark |
| P2.10 | Computational Modelling of Host-Parasite Metabolic Interactions to Guide Host-Directed Therapies Denis Alain Henri Lucien Joly, Maria Masid Barcon, Marina Maurizio, Kerry Woods, Reto Caldelari, John G. Doench, Arunasalam Naguleswaran, Martín González Fernández, Jonas Zemp, Mélanie Borteele, Volker Heussler, Sven Rottenberg, Philipp Olias, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, EPFL, Switzerland |
| P2.11 | Mathematical Model of Cholesterol Metabolism and Transport Peter Emil Carstensen, Jacob Bendsen, Laura Hjort Blicher, Kim Kristensen, John Bagterp Jorgensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark |
| P2.12 | A Whole-Body Mathematical Model of Cholesterol Metabolism and Transport Nafsika Papaioannou, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Dayna Schultz, Ioannis Dallas, Ilias Frydas, Catherine Gabriel, Spyros Karakitsios, Ourania Anesti, Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece |
| P2.13 | Estimating the Frequency Response of Zebrafish During Target Tracking Sumeyye Anilmak, Ismail Uyanik, Hacettepe University, Turkey |
| P2.14 | Metabolic Modelling Reveals Key Pathways in COVID-19 in an Effort to Drive Drug Purposing |
| P2.15 | Mini-Bioreactor for Parts Characterization of a Biological Circuit: Absorbance and Fluorescence Measurement Calibration, and Online Growth Rate Estimation Harold José Díaz-Iza, Mario Andres Arboleda-Garcia, Yadira Boada, Alejandro Vignoni, Jesús Picó, Technical University of Valencia, Spain |
| P2.16 | Cooperative Reactions for Designing Robust Biomolecular Circuits Exhibiting Homeostatic Behavior Anna Procopio, Francesco Montefusco, Nicola Cortese, Marco Ariola, Francesco Amato, Carlo Cosentino, Università degli Studi Magna Graecia di Catanzaro, Italy |
| P2.17 | Navigating Biological Systems with PBPK, Text mining and AI: in silico NAMs for the Development of Reliable and Robust QAOps Achilleas Karakoltzidis, Elli Renieri, Nafsika Papaioannou, Ilias Frydas, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Dayna Schultz, Catherine Gabriel, Nancy Georgiou, Spyros Karakitsios, Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece |
| P2.18 | Closed-Loop Modulation of Active Sensing Reveal the Critical Role of Sensory Feedback Furkan Sabri Dipi, Mehmet Muratoğlu, Emin Yusuf Aydin, Ismail Uyanik, Hacettepe University, Turkey |
| P2.19 | Moment Closure for a Birth-Death Model of Antimicrobial Heteroresistance Nerea Martínez-López, Carlos Vilas, Adrián Pedreira, Míriam R. García, IIM-CSIC, Spain |
| P2.20 | Metabolic Profiling of CAR-T Cell Production Process Alexandra Paxinou, Sergio Navarro, Paraskevi Zagana, Aikaterini Tsigalou, Panagiotis Boutikos, Manel Juan, Maria I. Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| P2.21 | Developing a Standardized Meta-Database of Human Metabolic Stoichiometric Models Marilena D.A. Pantziri, Maria I. Klapa, FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| P2.22 | Could Omics Shed Light to Diagnostic Concerns for HIV and Hepatitis B and C? Discussing the Issue in the Context of Blood Donor and Patient Data from a Major Greek Hospital Spyridon (Spyros) Matsagos, Eleni Anastasiou, Stamatina Kafkarisiou, Vassiliki Giannopoulou, Sophia Kougia, Chrysoula Alepi, Tzaneio General Hospital, Greece |
| P2.23 | Dynamic Feedback Control in Plant Circadian Rhythms Spyridon Aleiferis, Maria I Klapa, Complexity Cybernetics SPPC & FORTH/ICE-HT, Greece |
| P2.24 | A Systems Theoretical Formalism to Characterize the Attractor Landscape of Solid Tumors for Designing Immuno-Therapeutic Strategies Priyan Bhattacharya, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, Thomas Jefferson University, USA |
LAKONES PANORAMA, MAKRADES & SCENIC TOUR
This tour begins with a scenic drive through the wonderful Corfiot countryside, full of olive groves, pine, cypress, lemon and orange trees.
You will first visit the LAZARIS KOUM KOUAT Distillery, where you will be able to watch the cultivation and distil process of the koum kouat (traditional Corfiot Product) and other product such as the mandolato etc, you will have the chance to taste from all types of liqueurs and rest products.
The tour then continues to the picturesque traditional village of Lakones, situated high up the mountain slopes, from where you can enjoy a panoramic vista over the whole bay of Paleokastritsa. Lunch will be served.
Your next stop will be at the village of Makrades, where you will have the chance to wander around small narrow streets of the village and admire the life of a village.
After a panoramic drive through the countryside of the island you will return to your hotel.
CORFU TOWN TOUR
& GALA DINNER AT CORFU SAILING CLUB
Once in the Old Quarter of Corfu Town, the coaches drop you off in front of the Old Venetian Fortress (14th Century – UNESCO World Heritage), opposite the central “Esplanade Square”. Whilst your coach awaits at this point for your return, your guide takes you on a beautiful walking tour of the historic centre of the Old Town.
Walking around in the maze of winding narrow cobbled streets known as “kandounia”, you visit some of the most elegant quarters of this Venetian-built town, which competes with Napoli, Florence and Venice in terms of beauty, style, character and charm.
Walking along the old cricket grounds – a tradition left over by the British – you see the Royal Palace of St. George & St. Michael, an imposing building built entirely of yellow Maltese stone by the first British Commissioner of the island, the spectacular arcades of the Liston Piazza, a down-sized replica of the Rue de Rivoli of Paris, built by the French in the 19th century – before heading into the heart of the old town. You visit the 300-year old Church of Saint Spiridon with its priceless collection of icons and gifts offered to the Patron Saint of the Island, explore the old flee-market, pass by the old Town Hall and you find yourself in the busy shopping district.
The tour will end with the Gala Dinner at the Corfu Sailing Club.
SOCIAL PROGRAM