 |
|
|
The Greek Island of Corfu
|
Crescent shaped Corfu, the second largest and most beautiful of the Ionian Islands (the "Eptanissa" or "Seven Islands") is located in the north of the Ionian Sea, across from Italy and 3 km from the Albanian coast on the east. The name is derived from the Greek "korifo" or summit, which refers to the Acropolis where the city stands and where refuge was sought from pirates during the Byzantine period. To the Greeks it is known as Kerkyra, from Corcyra, its ancient capital city. Verdant and fertile from abundant rainfall and lavishly picturesque, its great natural beauty and local color is its enchantment. Unlike the islands of the Cyclades (Mykonos, Santorini, etc.) the scenery is not composed of white cubic houses on barren stretches of rock. Corfu is endowed with a landscape of rustic scenery and woodlands, rich plains, hills, flourishing olive groves, imposing mountains, valleys, lakes, charming harbors and bays, long coasts with broad beaches, and traditional villages, which provide spectacular vistas and quite a variety of destinations for the tourist. Many powers dominated the island over its long history but it was the lengthy presence of the Venetians that gave the island its character and permeated the culture, art, music, and mostly notably, the architecture, and cuisine. It was the setting used by many writers from Shakespeare's "The Tempest," to Lawrence Durell's "Prospero's Cell," and Gerald Durell's, "My Family and Other Animals."
Inhabited since around 70,000 to 40,00 B.C. (Upper and Middle Paleolithic periods), it is widely believed the ancient seafaring Phaeacians resided there (when Homer's Odysseus came ashore before reaching Ithaca). The colony of Corcyra, the ancient capital, was settled by Corinth in 734 B.C. and never part of the Golden Age of Greece but in the Second Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) Athens came to the aid of Corcyra against Corinth. Under Roman rule in 229 B.C. Corfu opposed Augustus Caesar (31 B.C.) to support Antony and Cleopatra and was punished by having its monuments destroyed. The Romans finally lost control; in the 6th century A.D. the Vandals wrought havoc on the island, and in the 11th century the Normans' rule was interspersed by the raids and plundering of Crusaders. After laying siege to Corfu the Byzantines rid the island of the Normans. The French controlled it in intermittent spurts and then lost it when Napoleon fell from power.. The Ottomans did not oppress the island for four hundred years as they did the rest of Greece but working in partnership with the Russians from 1799 to 1807 they signed the treaty that formed the "Seven Island State" of Corfu. The British were the last to rule before it became part of Greece in 1864, and contributed to developing agriculture, building schools, roads, bridges, administrative buildings, and hospitals. Mussolini invaded in WW II and when Italy surrendered to the Allies Germany retaliated by massacring Italians; the whole community of Corfiote Jews was wiped out.
Indeed the first destination as a tourist is Corfu Town on the east coast, when coming in by ferry from the port of Igoumenitsa on the mainland (an hour and a half ride). The visibly green and historic town seems to spill up onto the promontory and outwards, as the ship glides in at the dock at Mandouki The town is divided into districts: the historic center with the old port and Byzantine Fourio (fortress), the old Venetian neighborhoods of Campiello above the harbor; Kofineto with the well known Esplanade used for public events (the cricket pitch at one end was left by the British), flanked by the arcaded street, Liston, designed during the French occupation to look like Rue du Rivoli in Paris, now lined with cafés; the commercial district next to it and the area of the new fortress with the market and what is left of the old Jewish quarter. Renovations made after the 1994 EU summit have left it quite attractive. The old town, with its Venetian air is captivating and colorful; diverse architectural styles, 18th century shuttered buildings, a Catholic Church above a steep stairway, narrow alleyways, clotheslines hung between tenements (a characteristic feature of Corfu town), tourist shops and boutiques weave an interesting tapestry.
Numerous worthwhile sites await the tourist. The Archaeological Museum showcases the well-preserved massive (17m) archaic sculpture of the Gorgon Medusa from the 6th century B.C. Temple of Artemis at Corcyra. The impressive Asian Museum, housed in the Palace of Sts. Michael and George, built as a residence for the British High Commissioner in 1819 and later used by the Greek monarchy, contains a fabulous collection of Oriental Art (screens, porcelain, bronze, etc.) amassed and donated by a Corfiot diplomat. Nearby is a museum dedicated to the famous 19th century Greek poet, Dionyssios Solomos, who penned the Greek national anthem. In the restored church of the Panagia (Our Lady) of Andivouniottissa, the Byzantine Museum houses a fine collection of church frescoes and mosaics from the site of Paleopolis (the old city), pre-Christian artifacts, and icons from the 15th to 19th centuries. The most famous church in the town is Agios Spyridon, where its patron saint's mummified relics can be viewed. St. Spyridon (who attended the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325 A.D. and for whom much of the island's males and females is named after) is accredited with saving Corfu from a plague in 1632 and from famine in the 17th century; during WW II the church was untouched by Nazi bombs. The relics are paraded in Corfu town on Palm Sunday, Easter, and August 15th, when the town is transformed into a stirring spectacle of cramped streets flooded with townspeople trailing in religious precession (accommodations are booked solid for those days so plan ahead).
On the outskirts south of the town, the woodland estate of Non Repos, built in 1824 by the British and given to Greece in 1864 was the birthplace of Prince Phillip, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Its museum contains archaeological finds, period furniture, and modern exhibits. Temples dedicated to Poseidon and Hera are on its grounds. Just 4 km south of the town, where once sat the ancient capital of Corcyra, is a peninsula. The gorgeously green hill above it, with a stunning vista, is the area of Kanoni where the French had artillery in 1798 (one cannon remains). At the tip of Kanoni, below the hill, is the most photographed, tiny, tree filled islet of Pondikonissi (Mouse Island), one version claims it to be the petrified ruins of one the Phaeacian ships that took Odysseus back to Ithaca; Vlaherna and its little white convent of the same name is the islet next to it, attached to the peninsula by a causeway.
A huge new water park, "Aqualand" is 9 km west of the town in Agios Ioannis and offers family activities. There are also many excursions and boat trips from Corfu town to keep one on the go. In the rustic village of Gastouri (4.5 km sw) lies the Achillion, the neoclassical summer palace of the Empress Elizabeth ("Sissy") of Austria, built in 1890 with an interior of mixed styles and frescoes of heroes and philosophers. A museum in the morning, at night it turns into a casino; located on the top floor, it opens onto a romantic terrace, lined with statutes of the muses and surrounded by a lush, overgrown terraced garden leading to the sea. The famous statue of Achilles, her favorite hero, graces the garden; beyond is a magnificient view of the island.
Continue to Corfu Island part 2 >>
| |
|
