Corfu

Corfu (Modern Greek: Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, pronounced: /ˈcercira/; Ancient Greek: Κέρκυρα or Κόρκυρα; Latin: Corcyra; Italian: Corfù) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The municipality includes the island Corfu and the smaller islands Ereikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The principal city of the island and seat of the municipality (pop. 33,886) is also named Corfu.Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior 
The island is bound with the history of Greece from the beginning of Greek mythology. Its Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is related to two powerful water symbols: Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopus and river nymph Metope, and abducted her. Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: Korkyra, which gradually evolved to Kerkyra (Doric). Together, they had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named: Phaiakes. This term was transliterated via Latin to Phaeacians.
The island's history is laden with battles and conquests. The legacy of these struggles is visible in the form of castles punctuating strategic locations across the island. Two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a Kastropolis ("castle city") by the Greek government. Corfu was long controlled by Venice, which repulsed several Turkish sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire along with the remaining islands of the United States of the Ionian Islands, and unification with modern Greece was concluded in 1864 under the Treaty of London.
In 2007, the city's old city was designated for the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a recommendation by ICOMOS.UNESCO Advisory Body (International Council on Monuments and Sites) report on Corfu History retrieved 3 July 2007
Corfu is a very popular tourist destination.Duncan Garwood, Mediterranean Europe, 2009Russell King, John Connell, Small worlds, global lives: islands and migration, 1999 Up until the early 20th century, it was mainly visited by the European royals and elites, including Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and Empress Elisabeth of Austria; today it is also widely visited by middle class families (primarily from the UK, Scandinavia and Germany), leading to mass tourism.Paris Tsartas, Tourism Development in Greek Insular and Coastal Areas, 2003 It is still popular with the global elite however, and in the island's northeast the homeowners include members of the Rothschild family and Russian oligarchs.Nick Foster, Financial Times, Ionian rhapsody June 17, 2011Daily Telegraph, November 3, 2008
==Geography==
The north-eastern coastline of Corfu lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania, from which it is separated by straits varying in width from 3 to 23 km (2 to 15 mi), while the south-east side of the island lies off the coast of Thesprotia, Greece. The name "Corfu", an Italian version of the Byzantine Κορυφώ (Koryphō), meaning "city of the peaks", derives from the Greek Κορυφαί (Koryphai) (crests or peaks), denoting the two peaks of Palaio Frourio. In shape it is like the sickle (drepanē, δρεπάνι), to which it was compared by the ancients: the concave side, with the city and harbour of Corfu in the centre, lies toward the Albanian coast. With the island's area estimated at , it runs approximately long, with greatest breadth at around .
Two high and well-defined ranges divide the island into three districts, of which the northern is mountainous, the central undulating, and the southern low-lying. The more important of the two ranges, that of Pantokrator (Παντοκράτωρ - the ancient Istone) stretches east and west from Cape Falacro to Cape Psaromita, and attains its greatest elevation in the summit of the same name.
thumb|left|250px| Bay of St. George in northwestern Corfu
The second range culminates in the mountain of Santi Jeca, or Santa Decca, as it is called by misinterpretation of the Greek designation Άγιοι Δέκα (Hagioi Deka), or the Ten Saints. The whole island, composed as it is of various limestone formations, presents great diversity of surface, and views from more elevated spots are magnificent. Beaches are found in Agios Gordis, the Korission lagoon, Agios Georgios, Marathia, Kassiopi, Sidari, Palaiokastritsa and many others. Corfu is located near the Kefalonia geological fault formation; earthquakes have occurred. Neither Corfu city or the countryside of the island have lost their traditional architecture hailing from the 16th century.
Corfu's coastline spans including capes; its highest point is Mount Pantokrator (); and the second Stravoskiadi, at . The full extent of capes and promentories take in Agia Aikaterini, Drastis to the north, Lefkimmi and Asprokavos to the southeast, and Megachoro to the south. Two islands are also to be found at a middle point of Gouvia and Corfu Bay, which extends across much of the eastern shore of the island; are known as Lazareto and Ptychia (or Vido). Camping areas can be found in Palaiokastritsa, Agrillia, with four in the northern part, Pyrgi, Roda, Gouvia and Messonghi.
===Flora===
Homer identifies seven plants that adorn the garden of Alcinous: wild olive, pear, pomegranate, apple, fig and grape vine. Of these the apple and the pear are (as of 2011) very inferior in Corfu; the others thrive, together with all the fruit trees known in southern Europe, with addition of the kumquat, loquat and prickly pear and, in some spots, the banana. When undisturbed by cultivation, the myrtle, arbutus, bay and holm oak form a rich brushwood, along with fir and Turkey oak in the hills. The minor flora of the island are extensive.
==Urban landscape==
===Old town===
The city of Corfu stands on the broad part of a peninsula, whose termination in the Venetian citadel (Greek: Παλαιό Φρούριο) is cut off from it by an artificial fosse formed in a natural gully, with a seawater moat at the bottom, that now serves as a marina and is called the Contrafossa. The old town, having grown within fortifications, where every metre of ground was precious, is a labyrinth of narrow streets paved with cobblestones, sometimes tortuous but colourful and clean. These streets are known as kantoúnia (καντούνια), and the older amongst them sometimes follow the gentle irregularities of the ground; while many are too narrow for vehicular traffic. A promenade rises by the seashore towards the bay of Garitsa (Γαρίτσα), together with an esplanade between the city and the citadel known as Spianada with the Liston arcade (Λιστόν) to its west side, where restaurants and bistros abound.The Independent Complete Guide to Corfu
===Palaio Frourio===
The old citadel (in Greek Palaio Frourio (Παλαιό Φρούριο)) is an old Venetian fortress built on an artificial islet with fortifications surrounding its entire perimeter, although some sections, particularly on the east side, are slowly being eroded and falling into the sea. Nonetheless, the interior has been restored and is in use for cultural events, such as concerts (συναυλίες) and Sound and Light Productions (Ηχος και Φως), when historical events are recreated using sound and light special effects. These events take place amidst the ancient fortifications, with the Ionian sea in the background. The central high point of the citadel rises like a giant natural obelisk complete with a military observation post at the top, with a giant cross at its apex; at the foot of the observatory lies St. George's church, in a classical style punctuated by six Doric columns,St. George Article as opposed to the Byzantine architectural style of the greater part of Greek Orthodox churches.
===Neo Frourio===
The new citadel or Neo Frourio (Νέο Φρούριο, "New Fortress") is a huge complex of fortifications dominating the northeastern part of the city; the huge walls of the fortress dominate the landscape as one makes the trip from Neo Limani (Νέο Λιμάνι, "New Port") to the city, taking the road that passes through the fishmarket (ψαραγορά). The new citadel was until recently a restricted area due to the presence of a naval garrison, but old restrictions have been lifted and it is now open to the public, with tours possible through the maze of medieval corridors and fortifications. The winged Lion of St. Mark, the symbol of Venice, can be seen at regular intervals adorning the fortifications.
===Ano and Kato Plateia and the music pavilion===
Near the old Venetian Citadel a large square called Spianada is also to be found, divided by a street in two parts: "Ano Plateia" (literally: "Upper square") and "Kato Plateia" (literally: "Lower square"), (Ανω Πλατεία and Κάτω Πλατεία in Greek). This is the biggest square in South-Eastern Europe and one of the largest in Europe,Corfu Life UK Quote: "The French were the ones who turned the Spianada into a public square and park - one of the biggest in Europe"Brohure of Kerkyra Quote: "SOCCER The tournament will start on Wednesday 04 of July An Open Ceremony and a parade of all the teams will take place in the biggest square in the Balkansand one of themost impressive ones in the whole continent, to the square Spianada itself which is constructed similarlyto the Royal Gardens of Europe." and replete with green spaces and interesting structures, such as a Roman-style rotunda from the era of British administration, known as the Maitland monument, built to commemorate Sir Thomas Maitland. An ornate music pavilion is also present, where the local "Philharmonikes" (Philharmonic Orchestras) (Φιλαρμονικές), mount classical performances in the artistic and musical tradition for which the island is well-known. "Kato Plateia" also serves as a venue where cricket matches are held from time to time. In Greece, cricket is unique to Corfu, as it was once a British protectorate.
===Palaia Anaktora and gardens===
Just to the north of "Kato Plateia" lie the "Palaia Anaktora" (Παλαιά Ανάκτορα: literally "Old Palaces"): a large complex of buildings of Roman architectural style used in the past to house the King of Greece, and prior to that the British Governors of the island. Today they are open to the public and form a complex of halls and buildings housing art exhibits, including a Museum of Asian Art, unique across Southern Europe in its scope and in the richness of its Chinese and Asian exhibits. The gardens of the Palaces, complete with old Venetian stone aquariums, exotic trees and flowers, overlook the bay through old Venetian fortifications and turrets, and the local sea baths (Μπάνια τ' Αλέκου) are at the foot of the fortifications surrounding the gardens. A café on the grounds includes its own art gallery, with exhibitions of both local and international artists, known locally as the Art Café. From the same spot, the viewer can observe ships passing through the narrow channel of the historic Vido island (Νησί Βίδου) to the north, on their way to Corfu harbour (Νέο Λιμάνι), with high speed retractable aerofoil ferries from Igoumenitsa also cutting across the panorama. A wrought-iron aerial staircase is also to be found, closed to garden visitors, descending to the sea from the gardens, and used by the Greek Royal family as a shortcut to the baths. Rewriting history, locals now refer to the old Royal Gardens as the "Garden of the People" (Ο Κήπος του Λαού).
===The old city and Pontikonisi===
In several parts of the old city houses from the Venetian era are to be found. The old city's architectural character is strongly influenced by the Venetian style, coming as it did under Venetian rule for a long period; its small and ancient sidestreets, and the old buildings' trademark arches are particularly reminiscent of Venice. Of the thirty-seven Greek churches, the most important are the city's cathedral, the church dedicated to Our Lady of the Cave (η Παναγία Σπηλιώτισσα (hē Panagia Spēliōtissa)); Saint Spyridon church, wherein lies the preserved body of the patron saint of the island; and finally the suburban church of St Jason and St Sosipater (Αγιοι Ιάσων και Σωσίπατρος), reputedly the oldest on the island, and named after the two saints probably the first to preach Christianity to the Corfiots. The nearby island, known as Pontikonisi (meaning: "mouse island"), though small is very green with abundant trees, and at its highest natural elevation (excluding its trees or man-made structures, such as the monastery), stands at about . Pontikonisi is home of the monastery of Pantokrator (Μοναστήρι του Παντοκράτορος); it is the white stone staircase of the monastery that when viewed from afar gives the impression of a (mouse) tail which lent the island its name.
===Othoni and Ereikoussa===
Othonoi (Οθωνοί) is the westernmost settlement and island in all Greece; Ereikoussa is the northernmost of the Ionian Islands.
===Lazaretto Island===
Lazaretto Island, formerly known as Aghios Dimitrios, is located two nautical miles northeast of Corfu; the island has an area of 17.5 acres and comes under the administration of the Greek National Tourist Organization. During Venetian rule in the early 16th century, a monastery was built on the islet and a leprosarium established later in the century, after which the island was named. In 1798, during the French occupation, the islet was occupied by the Russo-Turkish fleet, who ran it as a military hospital. During the British occupation, in 1814, the leprosarium was once again opened after renovations, and following Enosis in 1864 the leprosarium again saw occasional use. During World War II, the Axis Occupation of Greece established a concentration camp there for the prisoners of the Greek National Resistance movement, while remaining today are the two-storied building that served as the Headquarters of the Italian army, a small church, and the wall against which those condemned to death were shot.
==Archaeology and architecture==
===An architectural overview: From classical to modern===
Corfu contains a few very important remains of antiquity. The site of the ancient city of Corcyra (Kerkyra) is well ascertained, about to the south-east of Corfu, upon the narrow piece of ground between the sea-lake of Halikiopoulo and the Bay of Castrades, in each of which it had a port. The circular tomb of Menekrates, with its well-known inscription, is on the Bay of Castrades. Under the hill of Ascension are the remains of a temple, popularly called of Poseidon, a very simple dome structure, which still in its mutilated state presents some peculiarities of architecture. In regard of Cassiope, the only other city of ancient importance, its name is still preserved by the village of Cassiopi, and there are some rude remains of building on the site; but the temple of Zeus Cassius for which it was celebrated has totally disappeared. Throughout the island numerous monasteries and other buildings of Venetian erection are to be found, of which the best known are Paleokastritsa, San Salvador and Peleka. The Achilleion is a palace commissioned by Elisabeth of Austria and purchased in 1907 by Wilhelm II of Germany; it is now a popular tourist attraction.
===Italianate architecture===
Corfu city is famous for its Italianate architecture, most notably the Liston an arched colonnade lined with cafes on the edge of the Spianada (Esplanade), the vast main plaza and park which incorporates a cricket field and several pavilions. Also notable are the Venetian-Roman style City Hall, the Old and New castles, the recently restored Palace of Saints Michael and George, formerly the residence of the British governor and the seat of the Ionian Senate, and the summer Palace of Mon Repos, formerly the property of the Greek royal family and birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh. The Park of Mon Repos is adjacent to the Palaiopolis of Kerkyra, where excavations were conducted by the Greek Archaeological Service in collaboration with the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, and Brown University in the United States.
Examples of the finds can be found in the Museum of the Palace of Mon Repos.R. Winkes (editor), Kerkyra. Artifacts from the Palaiopolis, Providence 2004.
===Destructions of architecture brought about by World War II===
During World War II, the island was bombed by the German airforce, resulting in the destruction of most of the city's buildings, including its market (αγορά) and Hotel Bella Venezia. The worst architectural losses of the Luftwaffe bombardment were the splendid buildings of the Ionian Academy (Ιόνιος Ακαδημία), and the Municipal Theatre (which in 1901 had replaced the Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo). The Roman style Theatre (Θέατρον) of the city was later replaced by a bland, modern box-style building. Discussions have been held at local governmental level about demolishing this modern building and replacing it with a replica of the old theatre. In contrast, the Ionian University reconstructed the Ionian Academy in all its former glory.
===The Achilleion===
Empress (German: Kaiserin) of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi, was a woman entranced by beauty. She lost her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, when he committed murder-suicide in The Mayerling Incident of 1889. A year later, in 1890, she built a summer palace in the region of Gastouri (Γαστούρι) to the south of the city, with the powerful mythical hero Achilles as its central theme.
The palace, with the neoclassical Greek statues that surround it, is a monument to platonic romanticism as well as escapism. It was named Achílleion (Αχίλλειον) after the Homeric hero Achilles. The structure is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles, both in the main hall and in the gardens, depicting the scenes of the Trojan War.
The Imperial gardens on the hill look over the surrounding green hill crests and valleys and the Ionian sea. The centrepiece of the gardens is a marble statue on a high pedestal, of the mortally wounded Achilles (Greek: Αχιλλεύς Θνήσκων, Achilleús Thnēskōn, Achilles Dying) without hubris and wearing only a simple cloth and an ancient Greek hoplite helmet. This statue was carved by German sculptor Ernst Gustav Herter. The hero is presented devoid of rank or status, and seems notably human though heroic, as he is forever trying to pull Paris's arrow from his heel. His classically depicted face is full of pain. He gazes skyward, as if to seek help from Olympus. According to Greek mythology, his mother Thetis was a goddess.
In contrast, at the great staircase in the main hall is a giant painting of the triumphant Achilles full of pride. Dressed in full royal military regalia and erect on his racing chariot, he pulls the lifeless body of Hector of Troy in front of the stunned crowd watching helplessly from inside the walls of the Trojan citadel.
In 1898, Empress Sissi was assassinated at the age of 60 by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Lucheni, in Geneva, Switzerland. After her death, the palace was sold to the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Later it was acquired by the Greek state. The Achilleion has been converted into a museum.
===Kaiser's Bridge===
German Kaiser Wilhelm II was also fond of taking holidays in Corfu. Having purchased the Achilleion in 1907 after Sissi's death, he appointed Carl Ludwig Sprenger as the botanical architect of the Palace, and also built a bridge to be named by the locals after him: "Kaiser's bridge" (Greek: η γέφυρα του Κάιζερ transliterated as: i yefyra tou Kaizer), to access the beach without traversing the road forming the island's main artery to the south. The bridge, arching over the road, spanned the distance between the lower gardens of Achilleion and the nearby beach; its remains, a monument to imperial vanity as well as impracticality, are an important landmark on the highway. The bridge's central section was, ironically, demolished by the Wehrmacht during the German occupation of World War II to allow for the free movement of its vehicles.Corfu map: The bridge was destroyed during a German attack in World War II. The remains can still be seen today.
==History==
===Early history===
thumb|250px|A relief of Dionysus Bacchus at the Corfu Museum.
The earliest reference to Corfu is the Mycenaean Greek word ko-ro-ku-ra-i-jo ("man from Kerkyra") written in Linear B syllabic script, ca. 1300 BCE. Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages According to Strabo Corcyra (Κόρκυρα) was the Homeric island of Scheria (Σχερία),Strab. vi. p. 407 and its earliest inhabitants were the Phaeacians (Φαίακες). The island has indeed been identified by some scholars with Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians described in Homer's Odyssey, though conclusive and irrefutable evidence for this theory or for Ithaca's location have not been found. Apollonius of Rhodes depicts the island in Argonautica as a place visited by the Argonauts. Jason and Medea were married there in 'Medea's Cave'. Apollonius named the island Drepane, Greek for "sickle", since it was thought to hide the sickle that Cronus used to castrate his father Uranus, from whose blood the Phaeacians were descended. In an alternative account, Apollonius identifies the buried sickle as a scythe belonging to Demeter, yet the name Drepane probably originated in the sickle-shape of the island. According to a scholiast commenting on the passage in Argonautica, the island was first of all called Macris after the nurse of Dionysus who fled there from Euboea.W.H. Race, Apollonius Rhodius: Argonautica, Loeb Classical Library (2008), p. 409 n. 125-27; verses 4.982-992
Other have asserted that Corfu was Taphos, the island of the lelegian Taphians.
At a date no doubt previous to the foundation of Syracuse, Corfu was peopled by settlers from Corinth, probably 730 BCE, but it appears to have previously received a stream of emigrants from Eretria. The commercially advantageous location of Corcyra on the way between Greece and Magna Grecia, and its fertile lowlands in the southern section of the island favoured its growth and, influenced perhaps by the presence of non-Corinthian settlers, its people, quite contrary to the usual practice of Corinthian colonies, maintained an independent and even hostile attitude towards the mother city. This opposition came to a head in the early part of the 7th century BCE, when their fleets fought the first naval battle recorded in Greek history: 665 BCE. according to Thucydides. These hostilities ended in the conquest of Corcyra by the Corinthian tyrant Periander (Περίανδρος) who induced his new subjects to join in the colonization of Apollonia and Anactorium. The island soon regained its independence and henceforth devoted itself to a purely mercantile policy. During the Persian invasion of 480 BCE it manned the second largest Greek fleet (60 ships), but took no active part in the war. In 435 BCE it was again involved in a quarrel with Corinth over the control of Epidamnus, and sought assistance from Athens.
This new alliance was one of the chief immediate causes of the Peloponnesian War, in which Corcyra was of considerable use to the Athenians as a naval station, but did not render much assistance with its fleet. The island was nearly lost to Athens by two attempts of the oligarchic faction to effect a revolution; on each occasion the popular party ultimately won the day and took a most bloody revenge on its opponents (427 BCE and 425 BCE).Thucydides. "The Revolution in Corcyra." c. 400 BCE. Reprinted in Rogers, Perry. Aspects of Western Civilization. pp. 76-78. Pearson: Upper Saddle River. 2011.During the Sicilian campaigns of Athens Corcyra served as a supply base; after a third abortive rising of the oligarchs in 410 BCE it practically withdrew from the war. In 375 BCE it again joined the Athenian alliance; two years later it was besieged by a Spartan force, but in spite of the devastation of its flourishing countryside held out successfully until relieved. In the Hellenistic period Corcyra was exposed to attack from several sides.
In 303 BCE after a vain siege by Cassander, the island was occupied for a short time by the Lacedaemonian general Cleonymus of Sparta, then regained its independence and later it was attacked and conquered by Agathocles. He offered Corfu as dowry to his daughter Lanassa on her marriage to Pyrrhus, King of Epirus. The island then became a member of the Epirotic alliance. It was then perhaps that the settlement of Cassiope was founded to serve as a base for the King of Epirus' expeditions. The island remained in the Epirotic alliance until 255 BCE when it became independent after the death of Alexander, last King of Epirus. In 229 BCE, it was captured by the Illyrians, but was speedily delivered by a Roman fleet and remained a Roman naval station until at least 189 BCE. At this time, it was governed by a prefect (presumably nominated by the consuls), but in 148 BCE it was attached to the province of MacedoniaThe Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1992. In 31 BCE, it served Octavian (Augustus) as a base against Mark Antony. From 336 CE onwards, it was ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. After the definitive division of the Roman Empire in 395, Kerkyra remained with the Eastern Roman Empire, known in modern historiography as the Byzantine Empire.
===Medieval history===
Eclipsed by the foundation of Nicopolis, Kerkyra for a long time passed out of notice. With the rise of the Norman kingdom in Sicily and the Italian naval powers, it again became a frequent object of attack. In 1081-1085 it was held by Robert Guiscard, in 1147-1154 by Roger II of Sicily. During the break-up of the Later Byzantine Empire it was occupied by Genoese privateers (1197–1207) who in turn were expelled by the Venetians. In 1214-1259 it passed to the Greek despots of Epirus, and in 1267 became a possession of the Neapolitan house of Anjou. Under the latter's weak rule the island suffered considerably from the inroads of various adventurers; hence in 1386 it placed itself under the protection of Venice, which in 1401 acquired formal sovereignty over Corfu and kept it until the French Occupation in 1797.
====Venetian rule====
Kerkyra, the "Door of Venice" during the centuries when the whole Adriatic was the Gulf of Venice,"The Gulf of Venice runs for 800 miles between Italy and Esclavonia, and at the end of it is the island of Corfu, which the Venetians call their door, although Venice is in fact 800 miles away." (Pedro Tafur in 1436, Andanças e viajes). remained in Venetian hands from 1401 until 1797, though several times assailed by Turkish naval and land forces and subjected to four notable sieges in 1537, 1571, 1573 and 1716, in which the great natural strength of the city and its defenders asserted itself time after time. The effectiveness of the powerful Venetian fortifications of the island as well as the strength of some old Byzantine fortifications in Angelokastro, Kassiopi, Gardiki and others, was another strong factor that enabled Corfu to remain free. Will Durant claims that Corfu owed to the Republic of Venice the fact that it was the only part of Greece never conquered by the Muslim Turks.Will Durant. The Renaissance. pag 684. MJF Books. New York, 1981 ISBN 1-56731-016-8
A series of attempts by the Ottoman Turks to take the island began in 1431 when Turkish troops under Ali Bey landed on the island, tried to take the castle and raided the surrounding area, but were repulsed.
The Siege of Corfu (1537) was the first great siege by the Ottomans. It began on 29 August 1537, with 25,000 soldiers from the Turkish fleet landing and pillaging the island and taking 20,000 hostages as slaves. Despite the destruction wrought on the countryside, the city castle held out in spite of repeated attempts over twelve days to take it, and the Turks left the island unsuccessfully because of poor logistics and an epidemic that decimated their ranks.
thumb|250px|Angelokastro in Kerkyra. These were the Byzantine fortifications that withstood the Turkish onslaught in 1571
Thirty-four years later, in August 1571, Turkish forces returned for yet another attempt to conquer the island. Having seized Parga and Mourtos from the Greek mainland side they attacked the Paxi islands. Subsequently they landed on Corfu's southeast shore and established a large beachhead all the way from the southern tip of the island at Lefkimi to Ipsos in Corfu's eastern midsection. These areas were thoroughly pillaged as in past encounters. Nevertheless the city castle stood firm again, a testament to Corfiot-Venetian steadfastness as well as the Venetian castle-building engineering skills. It is also worth mentioning that another castle, Angelokastro (Greek: Αγγελόκαστρο meaning Angelo's Castle and named for its Byzantine owner Angelos Komnenos), situated on the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning Old Castle place) and located on particularly steep and rocky terrain, a tourist attraction today, also held out.
These defeats in the east and the west of the island proved decisive for the Turks and they abandoned their siege and departed. Two years later, Turkish forces repeated their attempt. Coming from Africa after a victorious campaign, they landed in Corfu and wreaked havoc on rural areas. Following a counterattack by the Venetian-Corfiot forces, the Turkish troops were forced to leave the city by way of the sea.
The second great siege of Corfu took place in 1716, during the last Turkish-Venetian War. After the conquest of the Peloponnese in 1715, the Ottoman fleet appeared in Butrinto opposite Corfu. On 8 July the Turkish fleet, carrying 33,000 men, sailed to Corfu from Butrinto and established a beachhead at Ipsos. The same day, the Venetian fleet encountered the Turkish fleet off the channel of Corfu and defeated it in the ensuing naval battle. On 19 July, after taking a few outlying forts, the Ottoman army reached the hills around the city of Corfu and laid siege to it. Despite repeated assaults and heavy fighting, the Turks were unable to breach the defences and were forced to raise the siege after 22 days. The 5,000 Venetians and foreign mercenaries, together with 3,000 Corfiotes, under the leadership of Count von der Schulenburg who commanded the defence of the island, were victorious once more.History of Corfu from xenos website The success was owed in no small part to the extensive fortifications, where Venetian castle engineering had proven itself once again against considerable odds. The repulsion of the Ottomans was widely celebrated in Europe, Corfu being seen as a bastion of Western civilization against the Ottoman tide. Today, however, this role is often relatively unknown or ignored, but was celebrated in Juditha triumphans by the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi.
====Venetian policies and heritage====
thumb|left|The building of the Ionian Academy. Fully restored after the WWII Luftwaffe bombings.
Corfu city looks very different from most Greek cities, because of Corfu's unique history. From 1386 to 1797, Corfu was ruled by Venetian nobility; much of the city reflects this era when the island belonged to the Republic of Venice, with multi-storied buildings on narrow lanes.
Many Venetian-speaking families settled in Corfu during these centuries and until the second half of the 20th century, the Veneto da mar was spoken in Corfu: they were called Corfiot Italians. During this time, the local Greek language assimilated a large number of Italian and Venetian words, many of which are still common today.
The Venetian feudal families pursued a mild but somewhat enervating policy towards the natives, who began to adopt some segments of Venetian customs and culture. The Corfiotes were encouraged to enrich themselves by the cultivation of the olive, but were debarred from entering into commercial competition with Venice.
The island served as a refuge for Greek scholars, and in 1732 became the home of the first academy of modern Greece. A Corfu clergyman and scholar, Nikephoros Theotokis (1732–1800) became renowned in Greece as an educator, and in Russia (where he moved later in his life) as an Orthodox archbishop.
Many Italian Jews took refuge in Corfu during the Venetian centuries and spoke their own language (Italkian), a mixture of Hebrew and Italian in a Venetian or Apulian dialect with some Greek words.
The Venetian influence was important in the development of opera on Corfu. During Venetian rule, the Corfiotes developed a fervent appreciation of Italian opera, which was the real source of the extraordinary (given the conditions in the mainland of Greece) musical development of the island during that era. It was in Venetian times that the city saw the erection of the first opera house in Greece, but it was badly damaged during World War II by German artillery.
The internationally renowned Venetian-born British photographer Felice Beato is thought to have spent much of his childhood in Corfu.
Venetians promoted the Roman Catholic Church during their four centuries rule in Corfu. Even if today the majority of Corfiots are Greek Orthodox (following the official religion of Greece), a percentage of Catholics (5%) nevertheless owe their faith to these origins. These contemporary Catholics are mostly families who came from Malta, but also from Italy during the Republic of Venice, and today the Catholic community takes in about 4000 people, (2/3 of Maltese descent) who live almost exclusively in the Venetian "Citadel" of Corfu City, and harmoniously side-by-side with the Orthodox community. Like other native Greek Catholics, they celebrate Easter using the same calendar as the Greek Orthodox church.
===19th century===
By the Treaty of Campo Formio, Corfu was ceded to the French, who occupied it for two years as the département Corcyre, until they were expelled by a joint Russian-Ottoman squadron under Admiral Ushakov. For a short time it became the capital of a self-governing federation of the Heptanesos ("Seven Islands"), under Ottoman suzerainty; in 1807 after the Treaty of Tilsit its faction-ridden government was again replaced by a French administration under governor François-Xavier Donzelot, and in 1809 it was besieged in vain by a British fleet, which had taken all the other Ionian islands. When, by the Treaty of Paris of 5 November 1815, the Ionian Islands became a protectorate of the United Kingdom as the United States of the Ionian Islands, Corfu became the seat of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. The period of British rule was a prosperous period for Corfu because the Greek language became official, new roads were built, the water supply system was improved and the first Greek university was founded in 1824. On 29 March 1864, the United Kingdom, Greece, France and Russia signed the Treaty of London, pledging the transfer of sovereignty to Greece upon ratification. Thus, on 21 May, by proclamation of the Lord High Commissioner, the Ionian Islands were united with Greece.
====British Lord High Commissioners====
This is a list of the British High Commissioners of the Ionian Islands; (as well as the transitional Greek Governor, appointed a year prior to Enosis (Union) with Greece in 1864).
* Sir James Campbell 1814–1816
* Sir Thomas Maitland (1759–1824) 1815–1823
* Sir Frederick Adam (1781–1853) 1823–1832
* Sir Alexander Woodford (1782–1870) 1832–1832
* George Nugent-Grenville, 2nd Baron Nugent (1788–1850) 1832–1835
* Howard Douglas (1776–1861) 1835–1840
* James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie (1784–1843) 1840–1843
* John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton (1778–1863) 1843–1849
* Sir Henry George Ward (1797–1860) 1849–1855
* Sir John Young (1807–1876) 1855–1859
* William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) 1859–1859
* Sir Henry Knight Storks (1811–1874) 1859–1863
* Count Dimitrios Nikolaou Karousos, President of Parliament (1799–1873) 1863–1864
===World War I===
During the First World War, the island served as a refuge for the Serbian army that retreated there on Allied forces' ships from a homeland occupied by the Austrians and Bulgarians. During their stay, a large portion of Serbian soldiers died from exhaustion, food shortage, and various diseases. Most of their remains were buried at sea near the island of Vido, a small island at the mouth of Corfu port, and a monument of thanks to the Greek nation has been erected at Vido by the grateful Serbs; consequently, the waters around Vido Island are known by the Serbian people as the Blue Graveyard (in Serbian: Плава Гробница, Plava Grobnica), after a poem written by Milutin Bojić following World War I.
Serbs in Corfu website
===Interwar period===
In 1923, after a diplomatic dispute with Greece, Italian forces bombarded and occupied Corfu. The crisis was settled by the League of Nations.
===World War II and resistance===
====Italian occupation====
During the Greco-Italian War, Corfu was occupied by the Italians in April 1941. They administered Corfu and the Ionian islands as a separate entity from Greece until September 1943, following Benito Mussolini's orders of fulfilling Italian Irredentism and making Corfu part of the Kingdom of Italy. During the Second World War the 10th infantry regiment of the Greek Army, composed mainly of Corfiot soldiers,History of Corfu from Corfu City Hall website was assigned the task of defending Corfu. The regiment took part in Operation Latzides, which was a heroic but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stem the forces of the Italians. After Greece's surrender to the Axis, the island came under Italian control and occupation. On the first Sunday of November 1941, high school students from all over Corfu took part in student protests against the occupying Italian army ; these student protests of the island were among the first acts of overt popular resistance in occupied Greece and a rare phenomenon even by wartime European standards. Subsequently, a considerable number of Corfiots escaped to Epirus in mainland Greece and enlisted as partisans in ELAS and EDES, in order to join the resistance movement gathering in the mainland.
==== The German occupation and the Holocaust ====
Upon the fall of Italian fascism in 1943, the Nazis moved to take control of the island. On 14 September 1943, Corfu was bombarded by the Luftwaffe; these bombing raids destroyed churches, homes, whole city blocks, especially in the Jewish quarter Evraiki, and a number of important buildings, such as the Ionian Parliament, the Municipal Theatre, the Municipal Library and others. The Italians capitulated, and the island came under German occupation. Corfu's mayor at the time, Kollas, was a known collaborator and various anti-semitic laws were passed by the Nazis that now formed the occupation government of the island.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the Holocaust in Corfu. Also contains information about the Nazi collaborator mayor Kollas. In early June 1944, while the Allies bombed Corfu as a diversion from the Normandy landings, the Gestapo rounded up the Jews of the city, temporarily incarcerated them at the old fort (Palaio Frourio), and on 10 June sent them to Auschwitz, where very few survived.From the interview of a survivor in the film Shoah Approximately two hundred out of a total population of 1,900 escaped. Many among the local population at the time provided shelter and refuge to those 200 Jews that managed to escape the Nazis.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: "[...]two hundred of the 2,000 Corfu Jews found sanctuary with Christian families[...]" A prominent section of the old city is to this day called Evraiki (Εβραική, meaning Jewish quarter) in recognition of the Jewish contribution and continued presence in Corfu city. An active synagogue (Συναγωγή) with about 65 members (who still speak their original Italkian language) is an integral part of Evraiki currently.
On April 18, 2011, the Jewish synagogue was targeted by arsonists but the fire was extinguished and there were no victims.
====Liberation====
Corfu was liberated by British troops, specifically the 40th Royal Marine Commando, which landed in Corfu on 14 October 1944, as the Germans were evacuating Greece.BBC WW2 People's War Quote: "By the time I got back to camp the troop had returned from Corfu full of stories about the wonderful reception they’d had from the locals as the liberators of the island." Bill Sanderson's Wartime Experiences -Part 4 - 40 Commando by Bill Sanderson (junior) Bill Sanderson's Wartime Experiences -Part 4 - 40 Commando by Bill Sanderson (junior) Retrieved 31-07-2008 The Royal Navy swept the Corfu Channel for mines in 1944 and 1945, and found it to be free of mines.JSTOR The Corfu Channel Case Quincy Wright The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 43, No. 3 (July , 1949), pp. 491-494(article consists of 4 pages) Published by: American Society of International Law Retrieved 31-07-08 A large minefield was laid there shortly afterwards by the newly-communist Albania and gave rise to the Corfu Channel Incident.Corfu Channel Incident Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies U.K. Retrieved 31-07-2008.JSTOR The Corfu Channel Case: Judgment on the Preliminary Objection Harding F. Bancroft and Eric Stein Stanford Law Review, Vol. 1, No. 4 (June , 1949), pp. 646-657 (article consists of 12 pages) Published by: Stanford Law Review Retrieved 31-07-2008Europe since 1945 The Corfu Channel Incident By Bernard A Cook, Inc NetLibrary by Google Books Retrieved 31-07-2008 This incident led to the Corfu Channel Case, where the United Kingdom opened a case against the People's Republic of Albania at the International Court of Justice.
===Post-War and modern Corfu===
After World War II and the Greek Civil War, the island was rebuilt under the general programme of reconstruction of the Greek Government (Ανοικοδόμησις) and many elements of its classical architecture remain. Its economy grew but a portion of its inhabitants left the island for other parts of the country; buildings erected during Italian occupation – such as schools or government buildings – were put back to civic use. In 1956 Maria Desylla Kapodistria, relative of first Governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias, was elected mayor of Corfu and became the first female mayor in Greece.Municipality of Corfu from the Internet archive Quote:In the elections of 1954 Stamatios Desillas was elected Mayor for a second term and remained in office until his death, Christmas Day 1955. Soon after a bye-election took place in Corfu in which the widow of the deceased Maria Desilla - Kapodistria, was elected Mayor with 5,365 votes in a total of 10,207. Maria Desilla became Mayor of Corfu in 15 April 1956 until 9 May 1959. She was the first female Mayor in Greece. The Corfu General Hospital was also constructed;Corfu General Hospital electricity was introduced to the villages in the 1950s, the radio substation of Hellenic Radio in Corfu was inaugurated in March 1957, and television was introduced in the 1960s, with internet connections in 1995.Alfa History Quote:1995 The first in Corfu ISP by Alfa and Forthnet. The Ionian University was established in 1984. Due to perceived neglect of Corfu by the central government in Athens, local businessmen and others proposed formation of an autonomist party to compete in the 2010 local elections
==Museums and libraries==
, on display at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu.]]
Kerkyra has always been a cultural centre of distinction, and its museums and libraries are studded with irreplaceable books and artifacts.
The most notable of the island's museums and libraries are located in the city, and are:Libraries and Museums from the City Hall website
*The Archaeological Museum, inaugurated in 1967, was constructed to house the exhibit of the huge Gorgon pediment of the Artemis temple in the ancient city of Korkyra, excavated at Palaiopolis in early 20th century. The pediment has been described by the New York Times as the "finest example of archaic temple sculpture extant". In 1994, two more halls were added to the museum, where new discoveries from the excavations of the ancient city and the Garitsa cemetery are exhibited.
*The Byzantine Museum of Antivouniotissa, a church converted into a museum featuring rare Byzantine art.
*The Banknote Museum, located in Aghios Spyridon square, features a complete collection of Greek banknotes from independence to the adoption of the euro in 2002.
*The Public Library of Corfu is located at the old British Barracks, in Palaio Frourio.
*Solomos Museum and the Corfiot Studies Society.
*The Reading Society of Corfu has an extensive library of old Corfu manuscripts and rare books.
*The Music Museum of the Philharmonic Society of Corfu is located in the building of the Philharmonic Society and features scores, instruments, paintings and documents related to the music history of Corfu and the 19th-century Ionian Islands.
*The Museum of Asian art of Corfu is located at the Palaia Anaktora (mainly Chinese and Japanese arts); its unique collection is housed across 15 rooms, taking in over 12,000 artifacts, including a Greek Buddhist collection that shows the influence of Alexander the Great on Buddhist culture as far as Pakistan.
*Kapodistrias Museum. Ioannis Kapodistrias' summer home in Koukourisa in his birthplace of Corfu has been converted to a museum commemorating his life and accomplishments and has been named in his honour.Eleni Bistika Kathimerini Article on Ioannis Kapodistrias 22-02-2008 Quote: Η γενέτειρά του Κέρκυρα, ψύχραιμη, απολαμβάνει το προνόμιο να έχει το γοητευτικό Μουσείο Καποδίστρια στη θέση Κουκουρίσα, Translation: His birthplace, Corfu, cool, enjoys the privilege to have the charming Museum Kapodistria in the location Koukourisa and εξοχική κατοικία με τον μαγευτικό κήπο της οικογενείας Καποδίστρια, που η Μαρία Δεσύλλα - Καποδίστρια δώρισε στις τρεις κερκυραϊκές εταιρείες Translation: summer residence with the enchanting garden of the Kapodistrias family, which Maria Dessyla Kapodistria donated to the three Corfiote societies Donated by Maria Desylla Kapodistria, grand niece of Ioannis Kapodistrias, former mayor of Corfu and first female mayor of Greece.
*The Serbian Museum of Corfu (Serbian: Српска кућа}}, Serbian House) houses rare exhibits about the Serbian soldiers' tragic fate during the First World War. The remnants of the Serbian Army of about 150,000 soldiers together with their government in exile, found refuge and shelter in Corfu, following the collapse of the Serbian Front as a result of the Austro-Hungarian attack of the 6 October 1915. Exhibits include photographs from the three years stay of the Serbians in Corfu, together with other exhibits such as uniforms, arms and ammunition of the Serbian army, Serbian regimental flags, religious artifacts, surgical tools and other decorations of the Kingdom of Serbia.
==Culture==
===Saint Spyridon the Keeper of the City===
Saint Spyridon the Thaumaturgist (Miracle-worker, Greek: Ο Θαυματουργός), also referred to as Αγιος Σπυρίδων ο πολιούχος (translated as Saint Spyridon the Keeper of the City), is the patron saint of the island. St. Spyridon is revered for the miracle of expelling the plague (πανώλη) from the island, amongst many other miracles attributed to him. It is believed by the faithful that on its way from the island the plague scratched one of the fortification stones of the old citadel to indicate its fury at being expelled. St. Spyridon is also attributed the role of saving the island at the second great siege of Corfu of 1716. Its legend ran that the sight of St. Spyridon approaching Turkish forces bearing a flaming torch in one hand and a cross in the other, had caused panic. This miracle is one of the earliest successful examples of psychological operations in warfare (psyops). This victory over the Ottomans, therefore, was attributed not only to the leadership of Count Schulenburg who commanded the stubborn defence of the island against Turkish forces, but also to the miraculous intervention of St. Spyridon. Venice honoured von der Schulenburg and the Corfiots for successfully defending the island. Recognizing St. Spyridon's role in the defence of the island Venice legislated the establishment of the litany (λιτανεία) of St Spyridon on 11 August as a commemoration of the miraculous event, inaugurating a tradition that continues to this day. In 1716 Antonio Vivaldi, on commission by the republic of Venice, composed the oratorio Juditha triumphans to commemorate this great event. Juditha triumphans was first performed in November 1716 in Venice by the orchestra and choir of the Ospedale della Pietà and is described as Vivaldi's first great oratorio.Baroque Music As far as his theatrical activities were concerned, the end of 1716 was a high point for Vivaldi. In November, he managed to have the Ospedale della Pietà perform his first great oratorio, Juditha Triumphans devicta Holofernis barbaric (sic). This work was an allegorical description of the victory of the Venetians (the Christians) over the Turks (the barbarians) in August 1716.
====Easter====
On Good Friday, from the early afternoon onward, the bands of the three Philharmonic Societies, separated into squads, accompany the Epitaph processions of the city churches. Late in the afternoon, the squads come together to form one band in order to accompany the Epitaph procession of the cathedral, while the funeral marches that the bands play differ depending on the band; the Old Philharmonic play Albinoni's Adagio, the Mantzaros play Giuseppe Verdi's Marcia Funebre from Don Carlo, and the Capodistria play Frédéric Chopin's Funeral March and Angelo Mariani's Sventura.Corfu city hall website on Easter festivities
On Holy Saturday morning, the three city bands again take part in the Epitaph processions of St. Spyridon Cathedral in procession with the saint's relics. At this point the bands play different funeral marches, with the Mantzaros playing Miccheli's Calde Lacrime, the Palia playing Marcia Funebre from Franco Faccio's Amleto]', and the Capodistria playing the Funeral March from Beethoven's Eroica. This custom dates from the 19th century, when colonial administrators banned the participation of the British garrison band in the traditional Holy Friday funeral cortege. The defiant Corfiotes held the litany the following morning, and paraded the relics of St. Spyridon too, so that the administrators would not dare intervene.
The litany is followed by the celebration of the "Early Resurrection"; balconies in the old city are decked in bright red cloth, and Corfiotes throw down large clay pots (the bótides, μπότηδες) full of water to smash on the street pavement, especially in wider areas of Liston and in an organised fashion. This is enacted in anticipation of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is to be celebrated that same night, and to commemorate King David's phrase: "Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel" (Psalm 2:9).
Once the bótides commotion is over, the three bands parade the clay-strewn streets playing the famous "Graikoí" festive march.As the Old Philharmonic concludes its marching in front of their building with a hearty rendition of the Graikoí March, the New Philharmonic appears and "salutes" their rivals with yet another rendition of the same march This legendary march, the anthem of the island, was composed during Venetian rule, and its lyrics urged: "Greeks, never fear, we are all enslaved: you to the Turks, we to the Venetians, but one day we shall all be free". The Venetians were replaced by the French and the French by the British, and both the lyrics and the performance of the march were officially banned. The bands, however, defiantly played it on the Eve of Easter, as a token of the resurrection of the nation, and the tradition is honored to this day.
===Corfu in myth===
*It is in Corfu that Heracles (Hercules), just before embarking on his twelve labours, slept with the Naiad Melite; she bore him Hyllus, the leader of the Heraclids.
*Corfu marks the Argonauts' refuge from the avenging Colchic fleet, after their seizure of the Golden Fleece.
*In the mythical sea adventure of Homer's Odyssey, Kerkyra is the island of the Phaeacians, (Phaiakes) wherein Odysseus (Ulysses) meets Nausica, the daughter of King Alkinoos. The bay of Palaiokastritsa is considered to be the place where Odysseus disembarked.Mirror Newspaper Travel section
==References==
==External links==
*Municipality of Corfu (official site)
*Serbs in Corfu and Vido: Historical Website
Category:Greece