CORFU ISLAND | GREEK ISLANDS | IONIAN

SPIANADA AND LISTON

The open space known as the Spianada is Europe’s second largest square, and for Greece both the biggest and loveliest. It was initially for defence purposes, being bare ground between the citadel and the town. It became a square in 1628 and is now the spot where three of Corfu’s major historical periods can be distinguished: in the Old Fort (Palio Frourio), the Venetian; in the Liston arcade the French and in the Palace (Anaktora), the English. Another relic of the past is the cricket matches which still take place on the grassy space. The circular monument in the Ionic style on the south side is the rotunda commemorating Maitland, the first High Commissioner from 1816-24. In the Spianada in summer the Philharmonic and the bands play in the open air for Corfiot and other music-lovers. The Liston with its cafes all in a row is the Greek equivalent of the rue de Rivoli in Paris or the Piazza San Marco in Venice. It consists of multi-storeyed buildings with arcades and Venetian lanterns. They were built in the Napoleonic days (1807-1814) by the French to serve as barracks. There was a time when only those families recorded on the lists of the nobility, Liste d’ Or (Libro d’ Oro), were permitted to promenade there, whence its name (list on).

THE OLD FORTRESS

The best known of the Venetian citadels, this one is closely linked with Corfu’s history. The Venetians also constructed the sea-water moat, the bastions – designed by Martinengo and Savorgnani – and a network of underground galleries for communication between the forts. There were several buildings in it, mainly houses of the aristocracy. Today it contains one of the island’s finest and largest churches, Agios Georgios, built by the British in 1840, a basilica with six external Doric columns and which can hold 4,000 people.

THE PALACE

Palace of SS Michael & George – Museum of Asiatic Art
An English, Georgian neo-classical building on the north side of the Spianada, it is said to be the oldest public building of modern Greece. The country’s only Sino-Japanese Museum and the Municipal Gallery are housed there. The museum has interesting exhibits from Asian countries, and examples of Chinese art from the Neolithic era to the Ming dynasty. In front stands the statue of Sir Frederic Adam in recognition of this High Commissioner’s work for the benefit of the island.

AGIOS SPYRIDON CHURCH

The church of Corfu’s patron saint, whose feast day is on 12 December. Most impressive is the towering belfry of the basilica, of 1590, the marble rood, the frescoes, dedications, and relics of the saint in a sarcophagus of 1770, in gilt and with precious stones. These relics are closely linked to the island’s history and religious life.

CAMPIELLO QUARTER

An old part of town crammed with multi-storeyed buildings, an endless maze in which it is a pleasure to wander aimlessly. Go by the square of the church of the Panagia tis Kremastis where the Venetian decrees were executed. Take note of the fine church of the Kremasti with its majestic exterior and grand interior, the stone altar screen with a carved vine in relief, and icons in the Italian manner by Spyros Sperantzas (1771). In front of the church there is a Venetian well-head of 1699, one of the nine cisterns providing water for the citizens when under siege in the years of Venetian domination. Not far is the Church of Agios Nikolaos, the cathedral of the Great Elders of the Church. The icons of SS Theodora and Kerkyra are attributed to the Cretan painter Tzannes.

BYZANTINE MUSEUM IN THE ANTIVOUNIOTISSA

Tel. 0030 2661038313
8 am-2:30 pm, closed Mondays and holidays
In Campiello on the Mouragio, in the third side street of Arseniou Street, housed in the renovated late 15th c. church of the Panagia tis Antivouniotissas. It is a basilica in the Ionian island style. The museum, opened in 1984, has icons of the Post-Byzantine period from the 15th to 19th c.

CHURCH OF AGIOS ANTONIOS & ANDREAS (14th c.)

At 115 Theotoki St., this is the oldest church of the Venetian town. It was rebuilt in 1753, when its aspect was radically altered. Its superb marble altar screen cost 2,110 ducats in its day.

THE NEW FORTRESS (Neo Frourio Agiou Markou)

It is considered one of the major specimens of the technique of fortification architecture. Smaller than the old fortress, it is on two levels, of which the lower protected the harbour and the higher the surrounding countryside. It was partly this fort and partly a tempest which prevented the Turks from capturing Corfu in 1776 and halted their expansionist drive to the West.

MOUSTOXYDI STREET (Plati Kandouni)

It is considered one of the major specimens of the technique of fortification architecture. Smaller than the old fortress, it is on two levels, of which the lower protected the harbour and the higher the surrounding countryside. It was partly this fort and partly a tempeThis Broad Lane (Strada Larga) was once much wider. Along it you can see the building of the Ionian Parliament, once the chamber of deputies and where the union of the Ionian Islands with Greece was voted on 23 September 1863. Nearby is the mansion of the noble Ricci family from whose balcony, at Carnival time, judges observed the horsemanship contests among the members of the aristocracy.st which prevented the Turks from capturing Corfu in 1776 and halted their expansionist drive to the West.

TOWN HALL SQUARE

A lovely square in the centre of the Old Town. The town hall (San Giacomo, 1693) is one of the finest buildings of the Venetian period. Once a club for the nobility, it was converted into the Opera of the Orient, the first in modern Greece, in 1720, and became the town hall in 1903. The Venetian church of 1632, dedicated to San Giacomo, is the Catholic cathedral. There are some good restaurants in the square.

BANKNOTE MUSEUM

Tel. 0030 2661041552
Monday-Friday 10 am-1 pm, closed on holidays
It houses an extensive collection of old and contemporary Greek and foreign banknotes. You can also see the first banknote issued by the new Greek state under the Kapodistrias government, value 100 phoenix!holic cathedral. There are some good restaurants in the square.

IONIAN ACADEMY

On Kapodistriou Street, it was once a Venetian barracks and in 1841 became the seat of the first Greek university, which had operated in the Old Fortress from 1824.

READING SOCIETY

At 120 Kapodistriou Street, a Venetian building and modern Greece’s oldest cultural foundation, of 1836. It has a well-stocked library with rare manuscripts, etchings and paintings. In Kapodistriou Street. A splendid architectural specimen, built in 1840, with a marble facade, Corinthian pilasters in rose-coloured stone, with capitals. It now houses the interpreters’ and translators’ department of the Ionian University. Greece’s first prime-minister Ioannis Kapodistrias was born in 1776 in the house which formerly stood on this site.