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Inside the city
The
first place to visit and the most historically interesting is the
town of Kerkyra itself.
Modern Kérkyra, the chief city, port, and capital of the nomós
(prefecture), lies on a peninsula on the east coast of the island.
The twin-peaked old citadel, with fortifications built by the
Venetians (1550), was once an islet. Its old town, with its
labyrinth of hilly, narrow streets, is a seat of a Greek
metropolitan and a Roman Catholic bishop.
During World War II, the city was bombed by the Italians and
occupied by the Italian and German forces and during the fighting of
1943, many of its buildings and other landmarks were destroyed. but
the Royal Palace (1816), a former residence of British governors and
now a museum, escaped. The island was restored to Greece in 1944. In
1962 a palace, the Achilleion, built (1890-91) for Elizabeth,
empress of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was for a while converted to use
as a casino. Pop. (1981) city, 36,901; island, 97,102.
Kerkyra has played an important role in the cultural and
educational development of modern Greece. In 1815, the first Fine
Arts School was founded and the first university was inaugurated in
1819 by Lord Guilford with the support of Ioannis Kappodistrias who
was born here and later became the first Prime Minister of the newly
liberated Greece.
An old mansion in the town of Corfu
One of the most interesting places to visit is the Spianada, the
enormous and well known central square with numerous little parks,
fountains, orchestral displays, statues etc. Next to it stands the
Old Citadel which was built between the 12th and the 16 th centuries
and lies on a small island opposite the Spianada, the enormous and
famous central square. The New Citadel or the Citadel of San Marco
is very well worth visiting too. The Mansion of Sts Michael and
George, of Georgian architecture, is now a Sino-Japanese Museum, the
Archaelogical Society and the Public Library with interesting
displays. It originally housed the British High Commissioner and
then was used as a home by the king George I of modern Greece at the
turn of the century. Other museums include the Archaelogical, the
Byzantine, the Historical, the Museum of the Heroes of the
Revolution and the Maritime Museum. The Town Hall was built in the
middle of the 17th century as a club for Venetian nobles and
officers and is still called San Giacomo.
The town, as most Greek towns, boasts many interesting churches.
That of St Spyridon, the island's parton saint, is the most famous
but Panagia (Virgin) Spiliotissa, Panagia Adivouniotisa, Panagia
Kremasti, St Jason and Sosipatros and others are worth visiting. The
town has also a number of Catholic churches as there are a few
thousand Roman Catholic believers living on the island.
The town offers many places for entertainment - be it the varied
tavernas or the many nightspots, clubs and bars, some of which are
within the many high class hotels. There is an easy-to-reach golf
course and many sport centres with tennis, mini golf and other
facilities. There is also a casino which used to be housed at the
Achilleion, can now be found at the Hilton Hotel.
Part of the old castle
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Town of Kerkyra
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