Art and literature flourished in Zakynthos during the Venetian Rule, and it was influenced by Italian traditions. This renaissance involved every aspect of artistic creation, including music, painting and architecture. Elements of western civilization combined harmoniously with Ionian traditions, enabling the Zakynthian artists to create inspired works. Hagiography thrived as its representatives were Michel Damaskinos, Manolis and Constantinos Tzannes and Dimitrios and Georgios Moschos. In the 17th century, painting flourished as Panagiotis Doxaras created new forms establishing a new period for Ionian painting. His works are exhibited in many Zakynthian churches, such as "Keria Aggelon", as well as in the National Galery of Athens. Other significant painters were Nikolaos Doxaras, Nikolaos Kandounis, Nikolaos Koutouzis, Dionissios Tsokos and Dimitrios Pelekassis. In the beginning, paintings depicted religious scenes, but later they showed social life and historical scenes, as well as portraits.

Many Zakynthians were known for their contribution to the progress of literature, yet the most significant person was Greece's national poet, Dionissios Solomos, whose work influenced all of modern Greek literature. Solomos's students also became famous: Jullious Tipaldos, Iakovos Polilas, Georgrios Tertsetis and Andreas and Stefanos Martzokis. Other prominent Zakynthians were Andreas Kalvos and Gregorios Xenopoulos both of whom contributed to the development of the Zakynthian Theatre. At first, the Zakynthian theatre gave simple, amateur performances called "Omilies". They were based on plays by unknown writers and they were imitations, satires and improvisations. They were very similar to the Italian Commedia dell' Arte. The most significant plays were "The Comedy of Phoney Doctors" and "Prelude of Kira-Lias" (1745) written by Savoya Soumerly, and "Hassis" (1790) written by Demetrios Gouzelis. In 1830, Antonios Matesses wrote his theatrical masterpiece "Basil", describing a love story in the modern day Zakynthos. The play, published in 1856, is an invaluable sample of Zakynthian writing with rich language and elucidation. It is staged even today. Later, the Zakynthian theatrical production displayed more solid characteristics, with performances of ancient Greek dramas and plays of contemporary writers.

The Zakynthians adore music, which accompanies them in every aspect of their daily life. Like all the arts, the musical tradition of Zakynthos began during the Venetian Rule, a time of great progress for Zakynthian art. The first school of music in Zakynthos was founded in 1815. Western influences were introduced to Zakynthos by the Italian musician Marco Batalia. Other Zakynthian musicians were Andonis Kapnissis, Pavlos Carrer, Fragiskos Domeneginis, Panagiotis Gritzanis and others. The most significant representative of the traditional Zakynthian "kandata" was Georgios Kostis.

The people of Zakynthos love festivals and dancing and singing, thus their carnival is quite famous. Originally, the carnival lasted the whole period from January 8th until the last Sunday of Halloween, but nowadays, it is celebrated during the last two weeks of Halloween. The local women could attend the carnival, which was their main form of entertainment. During the carnival, the locals set fire to a facade, which they buried symbolically, an event similar to the one in Karnavalos. Wedding traditions in Zakynthos are still preserved. The mandoline and guitar players arrive at the bride's home on the morning of the wedding, where they play, while the bride's relatives dance. When the bride and the groom are dressed, the players and the relatives escort them to the church, where the ceremony is performed. The wedding is celebrated with a grand party, with dancing and singing. The bestmen in the weddings of Zakynthos take turns in exchanging the rings. This is also a custom for christenings, thus it is very common for a person to have two names on the Ionian Islands.

Zakynthians adore dancing and singing. The most popular dance is "syrtos", danced all over the island, with few variations. It is accompanied by an accordion, a guitar and a violin and, depending on the area, the dance is called "Galatiotikos", "Volimiatikos" or "Levendinikos". In the central mountainous villages of the island, the local dance is "Giargitos" or "Dance of Thesseus", representing Thesseus's course in the labyrinth and his battle against Minitaur. There is also "Kinigos", narrating the adventures of the hunters and "Stavrotos", named after its crossed steps. In the village of Agios Leon, the local dance is "Amiri", denoting the unfortunate marriage of a young girl.

On the island of Zakynthos, one will find lovely hand-made embroidery, rugs and lace woven by local women who are known for their skills. These items are sold in the island's stores alongside souvenirs, inside the Zakynthian houses and in the local exhibitions of Folk Art.

Despite the touristic development, the people of Zakynthos have maintained the characteristics of the local architecture. The local constructions are influenced by Italian and Western architectural style. Since the 17th century, apart from the period when all the arts made progress, architecture flourished. The contemporary architecture combined Baroque and Renaissance styles with the traditional elements of the Ionian style. In the island's capital, old mansions and churches which survived the earthquakes in the 18th century still stand. Most of the defensive constructions and other public works were during the Venetian Rule. After 1850, many neoclassical buildings were built, one of them being the Municipal Theatre in the capital, built by the German architect Ziller in 1875. Most of the churches of Zakynthian province were influenced by Neo-classicism. Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1953 destroyed everything with only a few exceptions. Today, the beautiful buildings built after 1953, retain the style and beauty of traditional Ionian architecture, and they make Zakynthos an island of unique beauty.

The traditional dress, depicts the economical and cultural status of the island and its inhabitants. Thus, during several historical eras, the clothes of the rich nobles of Zakynthos are different from those of the bourgeoisie and the commoners. The rich nobles wore the best, tight pants, the famous "tsentourinia" and soft shoes, all made of expensive fabrics, while their wives wore silk scarves and gold jewelry. The characteristic accessories of the bourgeoisie were the big hat and the coloured pants, stopping under the knee, while they also used expensive fabrics and jewelry. The costume of the commoners was simple, made of cheap fabrics, varying depending on the occupation of the man. Nevertheless, there were some common accessories, such as "vraka", the vest, the white scarf around the waist and the white scarf on the head.

Zakynthos's visitors should taste the terrific "skordalia" (garlic sauce), the very tasty rabbit and the chicken. Every dish is prepared with fresh ingredients and is of good quality. You can find fresh fish and seafood in the seaside settlements. In the capital, traditional pastry shops sell "pasteli", and one should also buy oil cheese from the market. In the streets and the festivals "fritoures", the well-known traditional sweets are made in open- air kiosks.

The people of Zakynthos adore dancing, singing and music. During the Venetian Rule, the locals used wind instruments, which was a cause of their later influence by the Italian musical traditions. Thus they imported their strings from nearby Italy. The island's characteristic music is "Kandatha", sung in the streets of the town with the accompaniment of the mandoline, the guitar and improvised lyrics and "arekia", which was an influence from Creatan musical traditions. Today, on the island is a multitude of orchestras of mandolines, following in the steps of the first Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded in 1816.

The guitar is a well-known string instrument which is played at the serenades and festivals of the Ionian people. Ancient Egyptian depictions bear witness to its age. It was introduced to Spain by the Arabs and during the 12th century it was spread to the rest of Europe. Although it was used mainly for accompaniment, there were many great guitarists, in the 19th century especially. Among them were Caroulli, Giuliani, Aguando Garcia and later Segovia. The guitar played an essential part in many operas like Rossini's "Barber of Seville", Donitsetti's "Don Pascuale", and Verdi's "Oberon".

The mandolin is a string instrument one can find especially on the Ionian islands. Most of the Ionian people play the mandolin. In their gatherings, one plays and another accompanies with the guitar while the rest sing along. It originated from mandola, the biggest instrument of a lute variation. It has four pairs of metallic chords which one strikes with a small pick. In all probability, it came from its neighbour Italy, where it is very popular. Great musicians have composed pieces for the mandolin. Vivaldi wrote "Concert for two Mandolins" and Bethoven "Five Pieces for Mandolin and Piano".