Editing Corfu

{{short description|Greek island in the Ionian Sea}}
{{other uses|Corfu (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Corcyra}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Corfu
| native_name = Κέρκυρα
| image_name = Pontikonisi.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = 
| nickname             = ''Το νησί των Φαιάκων'' (The island of Faiakes)
| image_alt = Island of Corfu, Greece
| map_image = Corfu in Greece.svg
| country = {{Flag|Greece}}
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[Administrative regions of Greece|Administrative region]]
| country_admin_divisions = [[Ionian Islands (region)|Ionian Islands]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = [[Regional units of Greece|Regional unit]]
| country_admin_divisions_2 = [[Corfu (regional unit)|Corfu]]
| country_capital = [[Corfu (city)|Corfu]]
| population = 99,134
| population_as_of = 2021
| density_km2 = 163.44
| demonym = [[wikt:Corfiot|Corfiot]], [[wikt:Corfiote|Corfiote]]
| area_km2 = 610.9
| elevation_m = 906
| coordinates = {{coord|39.60|N|19.87|E|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code = 490 81, 490 82, 490 83, 490 84, 491 31, 491 32 (former 491 00)
| area_code = 26610, 26620, 26630
| mayor = 
| website = {{URL|http://www.corfu.gr/}}
| party = 
| since = 
| timezone1 = [[Eastern European Time]]
| utc_offset1 = +2
| timezone1_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time]]
| utc_offset1_DST = +3
}}
'''Corfu''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ɔr|ˈ|f|(|j|)|uː}} {{respell|kor|FEW|,_-|FOO}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|ˈ|k|ɔr|f|(|j|)|uː}} {{respell|KOR|few|,_-|foo}}) or '''Kerkyra''' ({{langx|el|Κέρκυρα|Kérkyra}}, {{IPA|el|ˈcercira|pron|el-Κέρκυρα.ogg}}){{efn|{{langx|grc|Κόρκυρα|Kórkyra}}, {{IPA|grc|kórkyra|pron}}; {{Langx|grc-x-medieval|Κορυφώ|Koryfó}}; {{langx|la|Corcyra}}.}} is a [[Greece|Greek]] island in the [[Ionian Sea]], of the [[Ionian Islands]];<ref name="Independent"/> including its [[Greek islands|small satellite islands]], it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier.<ref name="Where to Go in Greece: A New Look">{{cite book |author=Trevor Webster |title=Where to Go in Greece: A New Look |year=1994 |publisher=Settle Press |isbn=9781872876207 |page=221 |volume=1 |quote=Corfu is one of the most northern isles in Greece and also the most westerly, apart from three of its own small satellite isles... |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_1vmm656RMC&q=corfu+most+western+island+of+Greece}}</ref> The island is part of the [[Corfu (regional unit)|Corfu regional unit]], and is administered by three municipalities with the islands of [[Othonoi]], [[Ereikoussa]], and [[Mathraki]].<ref name="corfutvnews.gr">{{Cite web|url=https://corfutvnews.gr/diaspasi-deite-tin-tropologia/|title=Διάσπαση: Δείτε την Τροπολογία|date=25 February 2019|website=Κέρκυρα (Corfu TV News)}}</ref> The principal city of the island (pop. 32,095) is also named [[Corfu (city)|Corfu]].<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL81-32jgAMSfbnMRVjyfnPUeJInJ48_97uHrMts-zFzeyCiBSQOpYnT00MHhcXFRTsb2fGphpq4MKX2ZkaHobySNnvZCNHXvYVvlf80XevW0Q. |title=ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities |language=el |publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref> Corfu is home to the [[Ionian University]].

The island is bound up with the [[history of Greece]] from the beginnings of [[Greek mythology]], and is marked by numerous battles and conquests. Ancient [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] took part in the [[Battle of Sybota]] which was a catalyst for the [[Peloponnesian War]], and, according to Thucydides, the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time. [[Thucydides]] also reports that Korkyra was one of the three great naval powers of Greece in the fifth century BCE, along with [[Classical Athens|Athens]] and [[Corinth]].<ref>Thucydides, ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' 1.36.3</ref> Ruins of ancient Greek temples and other archaeological sites of the ancient city of Korkyra are located in [[Palaeopolis, Corfu|Palaiopolis]]. [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] castles punctuating strategic locations across the island are a legacy of struggles in the Middle Ages against invasions by pirates and the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]]. 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.<ref name="History of Corfu from Corfu City Hall website">{{cite web |url=http://www.corfu.gr/en/history.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106230616/http://www.corfu.gr/en/history.htm |archive-date=6 January 2008 |title=Corfu City Hall website |work=City of Corfu |quote=In literature, apart from the Homeric name Scheria, we meet various other names for the island, like Drepanë or Arpi, Makris, Cassopaea, Argos, Keravnia, Phaeacia, Corkyra or Kerkyra (in Doric), Gorgo or Gorgyra and much later the medieval names Corypho or Corfoi, because of the two characteristic rock-peaks of the Old Fortress of Corfu.}}</ref>

From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island, as part of the [[Republic of Venice]] since 1204, successfully repulsed the Ottomans during several sieges, was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the [[Ottoman Empire]] and became one of the most fortified places in Europe.<ref name="Keyssler1760">{{cite book |author=Johann Georg Keyssler |author-link=Johann Georg Keyssler |title=Travels Through Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, and Lorrain: Giving a True and Just Description of the Present State of Those Countries … |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_oKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA54 |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1760 |publisher=G. Keith |page=54 |quote=Corfu is not only a bulwark to the Venetians against the attack of a foreign enemy,... [...] ....and, since count Schulenburg caused several fortifications to be added to it, it may justly be looked upon as one of the strongest places in Europe.}}</ref> The fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the [[Adriatic]]. In November 1815 Corfu came under British rule following the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and in 1864 was ceded to [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|modern Greece]] by the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] along with the remaining islands of the [[United States of the Ionian Islands]] under the [[Treaty of London (1864)|Treaty of London]]. Corfu is the origin of the [[Ionian Academy]], the first university of the modern Greek state, and the [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]], the first Greek theatre and [[opera house]] of modern Greece. [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]], the first governor of independent Greece after the revolution of 1821, founder of the modern Greek state, and a distinguished European diplomat, was born in Corfu.

In 2007, the city's old town was added to the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage List]], following a recommendation by [[International Council on Monuments and Sites|ICOMOS]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6248244.stm |title=on UNESCO World Heritage List |work=BBC News |date=28 June 2007 |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref><ref name="ICOMOS">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/978.pdf |title=UNESCO Advisory Body ICOMOS report on Corfu History |access-date=3 July 2007}}</ref><ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/978/ |title=Old Town of Corfu on UNESCO website retrieved 3 July 2007 |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref> The [[List of European Council meetings|1994 European Union summit]] was held in Corfu.<ref name="The Independent2">{{cite news |title=European Union Summit: Corfu summiteers ready to fudge key EU decision |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/european-union-summit-corfu-summiteers-ready-to-fudge-key-eu-decision-national-status-on-parade-as-leaders-of-the-twelve-consider-two-candidates-to-succeed-jacques-delors-as-commission-president-1424715.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=24 June 1994 |author=ANDREW MARSHALL IN CORFU}}</ref> The island is a popular tourist destination.<ref>Duncan Garwood, Mediterranean Europe, 2009</ref><ref>Russell King, John Connell, Small worlds, global lives: islands and migration, 1999</ref>

==Name==
The Greek name, ''Kerkyra'' or ''[[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]]'', is related to two powerful water deities: [[Poseidon]], god of the sea, and [[Asopus|Asopos]], an important Greek mainland river.<ref name="Greek Mythology">{{cite web |url=http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheKorkyra.html |title=Korkyra |publisher=Greek Mythology Encyclopedia |website=Theoi.com |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref> According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopos and river nymph [[Metope (mythology)|Metope]], and abducted her.<ref name="Greek Mythology"/> Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: ''Korkyra'',<ref name="Greek Mythology"/> which gradually evolved to ''Kerkyra'' ([[Doric Greek|Doric]]).<ref name="History of Corfu from Corfu City Hall website"/> They had a child, Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named ''[[Scheria|Phaiakes]]'' (in [[Latin]], ''Phaeaciani''). Corfu is known as the island of the [[Phaeacians]].

The name ''Corfù'' is a Venetian and Italian version of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Κορυφώ (Koryphō), meaning "city of the peaks". It derives from the [[Byzantine Greek]] Κορυφαί (Koryphai) (crests or peaks), denoting the two peaks of ''Palaio Frourio''.<ref name= "History of Corfu from Corfu City Hall website"/>

==Geography==
[[File:Corfu topographic map-en.svg|thumb|Map of Corfu. Its satellite islands of [[Othoni]], [[Ereikoussa]] and [[Mathraki]] counterclockwise NW, WNW and W respectively (with respect to the northern part of the island at the top of the map) and [[Paxos (island)|Paxos]] and [[Antipaxos]] on the SE side, are visible.]]

Corfu is located in the northwestern corner of Greece. The northeastern edge of Corfu lies off the [[coast]] of [[Sarandë]], [[Albania]], separated by straits varying in width from {{convert|3|to|23|km|0|abbr=in}}. The southeast side of the island lies off the coast of [[Thesprotia]], Greece. Its shape resembles a [[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.<ref name= EB1911/> With the island's area estimated at {{cvt|592.9|km2|sqmi acre}},<ref name= stat01>{{cite web |url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation) |language=el |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2015}}</ref> it runs approximately {{cvt|64|km}} long, with greatest breadth at around {{cvt|32|km}}.

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 [[Mount Pantokrator|Pantokrator]] (Παντοκράτωρ – the Almighty) stretches east and west from Cape Falacro to Cape Psaromita, and attains its greatest elevation in the summit of the same name.<ref name=EB1911/>

[[File:CapeDrastisCorfuJuly122022 02.jpg|thumb|left|Cape Drastis]]
[[File:Aghios Georgios Bay in Corfu.JPG|thumb|left|Bay of [[Agios Georgios, Corfu|Agios Georgios]] in northwestern Corfu]]
[[File:CapeAsprokavosCorfuJuly172022.jpg|thumb|Cape Asprokavos|alt=Cape Asprokavos]]
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.<ref name= EB1911/> 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.

Corfu's coastline spans {{cvt|217|km|mi|0}} including capes; its highest point is [[Mount Pantokrator]] ({{cvt|906|m|ft|0}}); and the second Stravoskiadi, at {{cvt|849|m|ft|0}}. The full extent of capes and promontories 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).

===Diapontia Islands===
[[File:Othonoi 1.jpg|thumb|Othoni Island]]
The [[Diapontia Islands]] (Greek: Διαπόντια νησιά) are located in the northwest of Corfu, (6&nbsp;km away) and about {{cvt|40|km}}
from the Italian coast. The main islands are [[Othonoi]], [[Ereikoussa]] and [[Mathraki]].

===Lazaretto Island===
[[File:Lazaretto island (Corfu).jpg|thumb|left|[[Lazaretto Island]]]]
[[Lazaretto Island]], formerly known as St. Dimitrios, is located {{cvt|1.1|km}} off the coast northeast of the city [[Corfu (city)|Corfu]]. Lazaretto has an area of {{cvt|7.1|ha|1}} 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 [[Russia|Russo]]-Turkish fleet, who ran it as a military hospital. During the period of [[United States of the Ionian Islands|British rule]], in 1814, the leprosarium was once again opened after renovations, and following [[Enosis]] in 1864 the leprosarium again saw occasional use.<ref name="koine"/> During [[World War II]], the [[Axis occupation of Greece]] established a [[Nazi concentration camp]] there for the prisoners of the [[Greek resistance]],<ref name="Travel to Corfu"/> while remaining today are the two-storeyed building that served as the Headquarters of the Italian army, a small church, and the wall against which those condemned to death were shot.<ref name="koine">{{cite web |url=http://koine.terapad.com/index.cfm?fa=contentNews.newsDetails&newsID=10608&from=list |title=Corfu honored with a new museum |publisher= |website=Koine.terapad.com |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref><ref name= "Travel to Corfu">{{cite web |url=http://www.travel-to-corfu.com/page.php?id=46&back=corfu.php |title=Lazaretto Islet |publisher= |website=Travel-to-Corfu.com |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
Corfu has a [[hot-summer Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csa'') featuring hot, dry summers and mild to cool, very rainy winters, which are much wetter than other [[List of islands of Greece|Greek islands]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corfu climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Corfu water temperature - Climate-Data.org |url=https://en.climate-data.org/europe/greece/corfu/corfu-714977/ |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=en.climate-data.org}}</ref> The highest temperature ever recorded is {{Convert|42.8|C|F}} on 24 July 2007 while the lowest is {{Convert|-6.0|C|F}} on 17 January 2012.
{{Weather box
| location = Corfu (1955-2010) [[HNMS]] 1 m asl
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan record high C = 21.0
| Feb record high C = 23.0
| Mar record high C = 26.0
| Apr record high C = 28.0
| May record high C = 34.0
| Jun record high C = 41.0
| Jul record high C = 42.8
| Aug record high C = 40.0
| Sep record high C = 37.4
| Oct record high C = 33.0
| Nov record high C = 27.8
| Dec record high C = 22.0
| year record high C = 42.8
| Jan high C = 13.9
| Feb high C = 14.1
| Mar high C = 16.0
| Apr high C = 19.1
| May high C = 24.0
| Jun high C = 28.2
| Jul high C = 31.2
| Aug high C = 31.5
| Sep high C = 27.5
| Oct high C = 23.2
| Nov high C = 18.7
| Dec high C = 15.2
| year high C = 21.9
| Jan mean C = 9.8
| Feb mean C = 10.2
| Mar mean C = 12.1
| Apr mean C = 15.2
| May mean C = 19.9
| Jun mean C = 24.2
| Jul mean C = 26.7
| Aug mean C = 26.6
| Sep mean C = 22.7
| Oct mean C = 18.5
| Nov mean C = 14.4
| Dec mean C = 11.2
| year mean C = 17.6
| Jan low C = 5.3
| Feb low C = 5.7
| Mar low C = 7.1
| Apr low C = 9.6
| May low C = 13.3
| Jun low C = 16.9
| Jul low C = 18.9
| Aug low C = 19.3
| Sep low C = 16.8
| Oct low C = 13.7
| Nov low C = 10.2
| Dec low C = 7.0
| year low C = 12.0
| Jan record low C = -6.0
| Feb record low C = -4.2
| Mar record low C = -4.4
| Apr record low C = -0.2
| May record low C = 4.6
| Jun record low C = 8.7
| Jul record low C = 10.0
| Aug record low C = 11.3
| Sep record low C = 7.2
| Oct record low C = 2.8
| Nov record low C = -2.2
| Dec record low C = -2.0
| year record low C = -6.0
| rain colour = green
| Jan rain mm = 135.8
| Feb rain mm = 123.1
| Mar rain mm = 99.6
| Apr rain mm = 65.2
| May rain mm = 36.5
| Jun rain mm = 15.5
| Jul rain mm = 8.7
| Aug rain mm = 21.7
| Sep rain mm = 87.8
| Oct rain mm = 140.4
| Nov rain mm = 187.1
| Dec rain mm = 189.9
| year rain mm = 1111.3
| Jan rain days = 14.8
| Feb rain days = 13.4
| Mar rain days = 12.9
| Apr rain days = 12.2
| May rain days = 7.7
| Jun rain days = 4.8
| Jul rain days = 3.3
| Aug rain days = 3.3
| Sep rain days = 7.4
| Oct rain days = 11.4
| Nov rain days = 14.7
| Dec rain days = 16.5
| year rain days = 122.4
| Jan humidity = 75.6
| Feb humidity = 74.1
| Mar humidity = 73.1
| Apr humidity = 72.5
| May humidity = 69.2
| Jun humidity = 63.2
| Jul humidity = 61.7
| Aug humidity = 61.7
| Sep humidity = 70.3
| Oct humidity = 74.9
| Nov humidity = 77.5
| Dec humidity = 77.1
| year humidity = 70.9
| Jan sun = 117.7
| Feb sun = 116.8
| Mar sun = 116.0
| Apr sun = 206.5
| May sun = 276.8
| Jun sun = 324.2
| Jul sun = 364.5
| Aug sun = 332.8
| Sep sun = 257.1
| Oct sun = 188.9
| Nov sun = 133.5
| Dec sun = 110.9
| year sun = 2545.7
| source 1 = Hellenic National Meteorological Service<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.emy.gr/emy/el/climatology/climatology_city?perifereia=Ionian%20Islands&poli=Kerkyra |title=Mean Corfu Climatic Averages |publisher=Hellenic National Meteorological Service |access-date=1 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124011440/http://www.hnms.gr/hnms/english/climatology/climatology_region_diagrams_html?dr_city=Kerkyra |archive-date=24 January 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| source 2 = NOAA (extremes and sun 1961−1990)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/GR/16641.TXT |title=Kekira Climate Normals 1961–1990 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=1 March 2015}}</ref>
| date = August 2010
| source = InfoClimat extremes 1991-present <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie/normales-records/1991-2020/kerkyra-airport/valeurs/16641.html |title=Kekira Climate extremes 1991-present |access-date=1 March 2023}}</ref>
Hellenic National Meteorological Service<ref name="auto"/>
}}

==Biodiversity==
===Flora===
[[Homer]] identifies six plants that adorn the garden of [[Alcinous]]: wild olive, pear, [[pomegranate]], apple, [[ficus|fig]] and [[Vitis vinifera|grape vine]]. Of these the apple and the pear are very inferior in Corfu; the others thrive, together with all the fruit trees known in [[Southern Europe]], with addition of the [[kumquat]], [[loquat]] and [[opuntia|prickly pear]] and, in some spots, the banana. Olive trees dominate and their combination with cypress trees compose the typical Corfiot landscape. When undisturbed by cultivation,<ref name=EB1911/> the high [[Maquis shrubland|maquis]] is the major natural vegetation type followed by deciduous oak forests and to a lesser extent, pine forests. In total more than 1800 plant species have been recorded.<ref>Panitsa, M. & E. Iliadou 2013: FLORA AND PHYTOGEOGRAPHY OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS (Greece). 2nd Botanical Conference in Menorca.</ref>

===Fauna===
Corfu is a [[continental island]]; its fauna is similar to that of the opposite mainland.

====Birds====
Avifauna is extensive, with around 300 bird species recorded since the 19th century. Species vary in size from the [[greater flamingo]] to the [[goldcrest]].<ref>Gasteratos, I. unpublished data.</ref> Some species have become extinct, such as the [[rock partridge]] and the [[grey partridge]], or no longer breed on the island, like the [[eastern imperial eagle]], the [[white-tailed eagle]], the [[Bonelli's eagle]], the [[griffon vulture]] and the [[Egyptian vulture]].<ref>Γαστεράτος Ι. 2020: Τα Πουλιά των Προστατευόμενων Περιοχών της
Κέρκυρας. Διημερίδα 'Οι Προστατευόμενες Περιοχές του Φορέα Διαχείρισης Καλαμά – Αχέροντα – Κέρκυρας' 24-25/1/2020.</ref><ref>Γαστεράτος, Ι. 2019: Αλλαγές σε οικοσυστήματα της Κέρκυρας. Κάποια παραδείγματα. Επιστημονικό – Εκπαιδευτικό Συνέδριο 'Βιοποικιλότητα – Κλιματική αλλαγή και επιπτώσεις της σε νησιωτικά οικοσυστήματα.' Κέρκυρα 6-8/3/2020.</ref>

====Mammals====
Around 40 species of mammals live on the island and in the sea around it. [[Fin whale]]s, [[sperm whale]]s, [[Cuvier's beaked whale]]s, [[common bottlenose dolphin]]s, [[short-beaked common dolphin]]s, [[striped dolphin]]s and [[Risso's dolphin]]s are the regularly present cetaceans.<ref>Frantzis, A. 2009: Cetaceans in Greece: Present status of knowledge. Initiative for the Conservation of Cetaceans in Greece.</ref> [[Mediterranean monk seal|Monk seals]] appear from time to time without breeding there anymore. [[Eurasian otter]]s still survive in the lagoons and streams of Corfu.<ref>Ruiz-Olmo, J. 2006: The Otter (Lutra lutra L.) on Corfu Island (Greece): Situation in 2006. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 23: 17-25.</ref><ref name="Stilles et Gasteratos 2021 a">Stille, M., Gasteratos, I. & B. Stille 2021: Larger mammals of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece – status and potential threats. Russian Journal of Theriology 20(2): 204-214.</ref><ref>Roberts, G. 2022: Otter survey of the island of Corfu 2021. OTTER, Journal of the International Otter Survival Fund 2022: 39-42.</ref> The [[European jackal|golden jackal]] was very common till the 1960s, but after persecution it became extinct, with the last individuals observed in the first half of the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Masseti |first=M. |year=2010 |title=Homeless mammals from the Ionian and Aegean islands |journal=Bonn Zoological Bulletin |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=367–373}}</ref><ref>Gasteratos, I. & Z. Fondoulakou 2018: [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328723727_The_presence_and_the_extinction_of_the_Golden_Jackal_Canis_aureus_from_the_Island_of_Corfu_northwestern_Greece The presence and the extinction of the Golden Jackal ''Canis aureus'' from the Island of Corfu, northwestern Greece.] Conference: 2nd International Jackal Symposium: Marathon, Greece.</ref> Recent sightings indicate a recolonization effort from the nearby mainland.<ref name="Stilles et Gasteratos 2021 a" /> [[Wild boar]]s were exterminated after 2000, after farmers complained about crop damage, but at the moment they recolonized Corfu, swimming from the mainland.<ref name="Stilles et Gasteratos 2021 a" /> [[Red fox]]es, [[beech marten]]s, [[least weasel]]s, [[European hare]]s, [[northern white-breasted hedgehog]]s are quite widespread, as some of the smaller mammals like the [[European edible dormouse]], the [[hazel dormouse]], the [[house mouse]], the [[yellow-necked mouse]], the [[western broad-toothed field mouse]], the [[wood mouse]], the [[lesser white-toothed shrew]], the [[etruscan shrew]], as well as several species of bats.<ref name="Stilles et Gasteratos 2021 a" /><ref>Hanák, V., Benda, P., Ruedi, M., Horacek, I. & T.S. Sofianidou 2001: Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Eastern Mediterranean. Part 2. New records and review of distribution of bats in Greece. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae 65: 279-346.</ref><ref>Life GRECABAT: Κατάλογος σπηλαίων με εποχές παρουσίας σημαντικών αποικιών (accessed in: 28/4/2021).</ref> [[Coypu]]s, [[fallow deer]], [[red deer]], [[Indian crested porcupine]]s, [[Siberian chipmunk]]s and [[raccoon]]s have been observed recently, but they are escapees and only the coypu and the raccoon have established viable populations.<ref>Stille, M., Gasteratos, I. & B. Stille 2021: Alien and invasive terrestrial vertebrate species on Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Journal of Vertebrate Biology 70(1): 1-13.</ref><ref name="Stilles et Gasteratos 2021 a" />

====Amphibians and reptiles====
Eight species of amphibians and 31 species of reptiles live or have been recorded on and around Corfu.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stille |first1=Bo |title=The Herpetofauna of Corfu and Adjacent Islands |last2=Stille |first2=Marie |publisher=Edition Chimaira |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-89973-524-6 |location=Frankfurt am Main |pages=1–354 |language=English}}</ref>

The [[Lissotriton|Greek newt]], the [[Macedonian crested newt]], the [[common toad]], the [[European green toad]], the [[European tree frog]], the [[agile frog]], the [[Epirus water frog]] and the [[Balkan frog|Greek marsh frog]] are the representatives of the Amphibia Class.

[[Loggerhead sea turtle]]s nest on the sandy beaches. On land, the [[Hermann's tortoise]] is widespread, while the [[marginated tortoise]]'s status is unclear. In freshwater wetlands [[European pond turtle|European pond terrapins]] and [[Balkan pond turtle|Balkan terrapins]] are common, but the last few years face the competition of the introduced [[pond slider]].

Lizard species include typical lizards and geckos like the [[Laudakia stellio|starred agama]], the [[Mediterranean house gecko]], the [[Tarentola mauritanica|moorish gecko]], the [[blue-throated keeled lizard|Dalmatian algyroides]], the [[Podarcis muralis|common wall lizard]], the [[Podarcis tauricus|Balkan wall lizard]], the [[Balkan green lizard]], the [[European green lizard]] and the [[Ablepharus kitaibelii|snake-eyed skink]] as also the legless Greek slow worm and the [[Sheltopusik|European glass lizard]].

Of the snakes of Corfu, only the [[Vipera ammodytes|nose-horned viper]] is potentially dangerous. The harmless snake list includes the [[Typhlops vermicularis|European worm snake]], the [[Eryx jaculus|javelin sand boa]], the [[Platyceps najadum|Dahl's whip snake]], the [[Balkan whip snake]], the [[Caspian whipsnake|Caspian whip snake]], the [[four-lined snake]], the [[Aesculapian snake]], the [[European ratsnake|leopard snake]], the [[grass snake]], the [[dice snake]], the [[European cat snake]], the eastern [[Malpolon monspessulanus|Montpellier snake]].

====Dragonflies====

Corfu has a rich and diverse dragonfly fauna and 39 out of Europe’s 143 species are presently confirmed to have breeding populations on the island, four of them quite recent additions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stille |first1=Marie |title=The Dragonflies of Corfu |last2=Stille |first2=Bo |publisher=Edition Chimaira |year=2020 |isbn=978-389973-040-1 |edition=Revised 2nd |location=Frankfurt am Main |pages=1–251 |language=English}}</ref> The Dainty Bluet (''[[Coenagrion scitulum|Coenagion scitulum]]'') and the Blue-eye (''[[Erythromma lindenii]]'') were reported for the first time in 2013,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brochard |first1=Christophe |last2=van der Ploeg |first2=Ewoud |date=2013 |title=Searching for exuviae of endemic Odonata species in Greece. |url= |journal=Brachytron |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=83–101}}</ref> the Black Pennant (''[[Selysiothemis nigra]]'') was in 2009,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sutton |first=Peter G |date=2009 |title=A checklist of the dragonflies (Odonata) of Corfu (Kerkira) including a new record for the Ionian Islands, the Black Pennant Selysiothemis nigra (Van der Linden, 1825) |journal=Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists' Society |volume=68 |issue=485 |pages=136–144 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> and the Bladetail (''[[Lindenia tetraphylla]]'') in 2014.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stille |first1=Marie |last2=Stille |first2=Bo |last3=Schröter |first3=A |date=2014 |title=Lindenia tetraphylla - new for the island of Kerkira (Corfu), Greece (Odonata:Gomphidae). |journal=Notulae Odonatologicae |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=86–90 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> The “Critically Endangered” Greek Red Damsel (''[[Pyrrhosoma elisabethae]]'') and the “Near Threatened” Eastern Spectre (''[[Caliaeshna|Caliaeshna microstigma]]'') also have breeding populations on the island but are severely threatened by habitat loss. Some species reported from the island in the beginning of the 20th century have not been found in recent years, and may have been lost to the island. Dragonflies are used as indicators for water quality as their larvae are very sensitive to pollution.

==== Butterflies ====
There are 75 (plus) known species of Corfiot butterfly. Of particular interest are the [[Papilio alexanor|southern swallowtail]], [[southern festoon]], [[Oberthür's grizzled skipper]], [[Lulworth skipper]], [[eastern orange tip]], [[Krueper's small white]], [[eastern baton blue]] and the [[tree grayling]], many of which are of [[Near-threatened species|near threatened status]]. Before the turn of the century, not much had been published about the butterfly fauna of Corfu, and there were only a few short and obscure scientific articles. Recent interest grew when a Facebook discussion page (now called Corfu Butterfly Conservation) was created on 27 April 2014. Since that time, a group of responsible butterfly enthusiasts has grown (731 members at the time of writing) who share their passion for the butterflies and moths found on the island. It is through this work that more is being discovered about the distribution and abundance of butterflies across the island.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About the Corfu Butterfly Conservation |url=https://www.corfubutterflyconservation.org/ |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=Corfu Butterfly Conservation}}</ref>

===== Corfu Butterfly Conservation =====
Corfu Butterfly Conservation (CBC) was launched in April 2019. The group is composed of concerned residents, island visitors and scientists from throughout Europe.<ref>Danahar G. W. (2020) Corfiot Butterflies – a contemporary perspective and global context, European Butterflies, Issue 3, pages 6-7.
</ref> Their goals are to produce robust scientific data that can be used to influence policy and protect habitat for the benefit of Corfu's butterflies and the wider natural environment, as well as to stimulate public interest in butterfly conservation.

CBC launched its website (www.corfubutterflyconservation.org, funded by the [[Royal Entomological Society]]'s Goodman Award) on the 1 January 2021 to coincide with the launch of the Corfu Butterfly Survey.<ref>Danahar G. W. (2022) Corfu Butterfly Conservation (CBC) – our first year of survey work - 2021, European Butterflies, Issue 5, pages 18 - 21.</ref> The website describes the 75 species of butterflies that have been confirmed by members of CBC from the island. It outlines the value of butterflies as indicators of the island's biodiversity status and encourages enthusiasts to record their sightings on this website, as participants of the survey.<ref name=":0" /> On the 16 December 2021, CBC became a UK registered [[community interest company]] (No.13813164) and so its identity changed from being a project to that of an organisation.<ref name=":0" />

== History ==

===Early history===
[[File:Dionysos Vacchos pediment at the Museum of Corfu.JPG|thumb|A relief of [[Dionysus]] Bacchus at the [[Archaeological Museum of Corfu]]]]

The earliest reference to Corfu is the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean Greek]] word ''ko-ro-ku-ra-i-jo (''"man from Kerkyra") written in [[Linear B]] syllabic script, c. 1300 BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/Word/Show/16880|title=Palaeolexicon - The Linear B word ko-ro-ku-ra-i-jo|website=www.palaeolexicon.com}}</ref> According to [[Strabo]], [[Korkyra (polis)|Corcyra]] (Κόρκυρα) was the [[Homer]]ic island of [[Scheria]] (Σχερία),<ref name=Strabo>''Strab. vi. p. 407''</ref> 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 has 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 (mythology)|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]].<ref>W.H. Race, ''Apollonius Rhodius: Argonautica'', Loeb Classical Library (2008), p. 409 n. 125–27; verses 4.982–992</ref>

Some scholars have asserted that Corfu is ''[[Taphos]]'', the island of the [[Leleges|Lelegian]] Taphians.<ref name="Goekoop2010">{{cite book |author=Cees H. Goekoop |title=Where on Earth Is Ithaca?: A Quest for the Homeland of Odysseus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weJTNoX5TkQC&pg=PA85 |access-date=11 November 2012 |date=15 September 2010 |publisher=Eburon Uitgeverij B.V. |isbn=978-90-5972-344-3 |page=85}}</ref>

According to [[Strabo]] (VI, 269), the [[Liburnians]] were masters of the island ''Korkyra'' (Corfu) for a time, until the 8th century BC. They reportedly were expelled from [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] by the Corinthians.{{sfn|Wilkes|1996|pp=100–101, 111}}{{sfn|Šašel Kos|2005|pp=183}}{{sfn|Barnett|2016|pp=72–73}}

At a date no doubt previous to the foundation of [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]], Corfu was peopled by settlers from [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]], probably 730 BC, 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.<ref name=EB1911/>

This opposition came to a head in the early part of the 7th century BC, when their fleets fought the first naval battle recorded in Greek history: 665 BC 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, Illyria|Apollonia]] and [[Anactorium]]. The island soon regained its independence and thenceforth devoted itself to a purely mercantile policy. During the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] invasion of 480 BC it manned the second largest Greek fleet (60 ships), but took no active part in the war. In 435 BC it was again involved in [[Affair of Epidamnus|a quarrel with Corinth]] over the control of [[Epidamnus]], and sought assistance from Athens (see [[Battle of Sybota]]).<ref name=EB1911/>

This new alliance was one of the chief immediate causes of the [[Peloponnesian War]], in which Corcyra was of considerable use to the [[Athens|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 BC and 425 BC).<ref>Thucydides. "The Revolution in Corcyra." c. 400 BC. Reprinted in Rogers, Perry. ''Aspects of Western Civilization.'' pp. 76–78. Pearson: Upper Saddle River. 2011.</ref><ref name=EB1911/>

During the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] campaigns of Athens Corcyra served as a supply base; after a third abortive rising of the oligarchs in 410 BC it practically withdrew from the war. In 375 BC it again joined the Athenian alliance; two years later it was besieged by a [[Sparta]]n 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.<ref name=EB1911/>

In 303 BC, after a vain siege by [[Cassander]],<ref name=EB1911/> 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 of Syracuse]]. He offered Corfu as dowry to his daughter [[Lanassa (wife of Pyrrhus)|Lanassa]] on her marriage to [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]], King of [[Epirus]]. The island then became a member of the Epirotic alliance. It was then perhaps that the settlement of [[Kassiopi|Cassiope]] was founded to serve as a base for the King of Epirus' expeditions. The island remained in the Epirotic alliance until 255 BC when it became independent after the death of [[Alexander II of Epirus|Alexander]], last King of Epirus. In 229 BC, following the naval [[battle of Paxos]], it was captured by the [[Illyrians]], but was speedily delivered by a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] fleet and remained a Roman naval station until at least 189 BC. At this time, it was governed by a prefect (presumably nominated by the consuls), but in 148 BC it was attached to the province of [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]].<ref>''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1992.</ref> In 31 BC, it served [[Augustus Caesar|Octavian]] (Augustus) as a base against [[Mark Antony]].<ref name=EB1911/>

===Roman and medieval history===
[[File:Pontikonisi Island 05-06-06.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pontikonisi]] island is home of the monastery of ''Pantokrator'' (Μοναστήρι του Παντοκράτορος). The Greek word Ποντικονήσι (''pontikonissi'') means "mouse island"; the white staircase of the monastery resembles from afar a mouse tail.]]
Christianity arrived in Corfu early; two disciples of [[Saint Paul]], Jason of Tarsus and Sosipatrus of Patras, taught the Gospel, and according to tradition the city of Corfu and much of the island converted to Christianity. Their relics were housed in the old cathedral (at the site of the current Old Fortress, before a dedicated church was built for them {{circa|100 AD}}.{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|pp=26–27}}

During [[Late Antiquity]] (late Roman/early Byzantine period), the island formed part of the province of [[Epirus Vetus]] in the [[praetorian prefecture of Illyricum]].{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|pp=28–29}} In 551, during the [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic War]], the [[Ostrogoths]] raided the island and destroyed the city of Corfu, then known as ''Chersoupolis'' (Χερσούπολις, "city on the promontory") because of its location between Garitsa Bay and Kanoni. Over the next centuries, the main settlement was moved north, to the location of the current Old Fortress, where the rocky hills offered natural protection against raids. From the twin peaks of the new site, the medieval city received its new name, ''Korypho'' (Κορυφώ, "city on the peak") or ''Korphoi'' (Κορφοί, "peaks"), whence the modern Western name of "Corfu". The previous site of the city, now known as ''Palaiopolis'' (Παλαιόπολις, "old city"), continued to be inhabited for several centuries, however.{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|pp=32–33}}

From at least the early 9th century, Corfu and the other Ionian Islands formed part of the [[theme (Byzantine district)|theme]] of [[Cephallenia (theme)|Cephallenia]].{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|pp=30–31}} This naval theme provided a defensive bulwark for Byzantium against western threats, but also played a major role in securing the sealanes to the Byzantine [[Catepanate of Italy|possessions in southern Italy]]. Indeed, traveller reports from throughout the middle Byzantine period (8th–12th centuries) make clear that Corfu was "an important staging post for travels between East and West".{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|pp=31–32, 33–34}} Indeed, the medieval name of Corfu first appears (Latinized ''Coryphus'') in [[Liutprand of Cremona]]'s account of his 968 embassy to the Byzantine court.{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|p=35}} Corfu enjoyed relative peace and safety during the [[Macedonian dynasty]] (867–1054), which allowed the construction of a monumental church to Saints Iason and Sosipatrus outside the city wall of Palaiopolis.{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|p=35}} Nevertheless, in 933, the city, led by its archbishop, Arsenios, withstood a [[Saracen]] attack; Arsenios was canonized and became the city's [[patron saint]].{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|p=34}}

The peace and prosperity of the Macedonian era ended with another Saracen attack in 1033, but more importantly with the emergence of a new threat: following the [[Norman conquest of Southern Italy]], the ambitious Norman monarchs set their sights on expansion in the East. Three times on the space of a century Corfu was the first target and served as a staging area for the [[Byzantine–Norman wars|Norman invasions of Byzantium]]. The first Norman occupation from 1081 to 1084 was ended only after the Byzantine emperor [[Alexios I Komnenos]] secured the aid of the [[Republic of Venice]], in exchange to wide-ranging commercial concessions to Venetian merchants. The admiral [[George of Antioch]] captured Corfu again in 1147, and it took a ten-month siege for [[Manuel I Komnenos]] to recover the island in 1149. In the third invasion in 1185, the island was again captured by [[William II of Sicily]], but was soon regained by [[Isaac II Angelos]].{{sfn|Leontsini|2014|pp=36–38}}

During the break-up of the [[Byzantine Empire]] the island was occupied by [[Genoa|Genoese]] privateers (1197–1207), who in turn were expelled by the Venetians. In 1214 it passed to the Greek [[despotate of Epirus|despots of Epirus]],<ref name=EB1911/> who gave it to [[Manfred of Sicily]] as a dowry in 1259.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Runciman |first1=Steven |title=The Sicilian Vespers |url=https://archive.org/details/sicilianvesperst00runc |url-access=registration |date=1958 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-107-60474-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/sicilianvesperst00runc/page/43 43]}}</ref> At his death in 1267 it passed to the [[Capetian House of Anjou|House of Anjou]]. Thus, Corfu became a part of the Angevin [[Kingdom of Albania (medieval)|Kingdom of Albania]] that was established and ruled by Frankish [[Charles I of Anjou|Charles of Anjou]] of the royal [[Capetian dynasty]].<ref>Hazard, H. W. (2017). A History of the Crusades, Volume 2: The Later Crusades, 1189-1311. USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, p. 260</ref> Under the latter, the island suffered considerably from the inroads of various adventurers.<ref name=EB1911/>

The island was one of the first places in Europe in which [[Romani people]] settled. In about 1360, a [[fiefdom]], called the ''[[Feudum Acinganorum]]'' was established, with mainly Romani [[serf]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPxA6JA49B4C&q=%22Feudum+Acinganorum%22&pg=PA108 |page=108 |title=Bright Balkan Morning: Romani Lives and the Power of Music in Greek Macedonia |isbn=9780819564887 |date=9 December 2002 |last1=Keil |first1=Charles |last2=Keil |first2=Angeliki |last3=Feld |first3=Steven|publisher=Wesleyan University Press }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHUdwpiYCtIC&q=%22Feudum+Acinganorum%22&pg=PA50 |pages=50–51 |title=The Gypsies |isbn=9780631196051 |date=23 February 1995 |last1=Fraser |first1=Angus|publisher=Wiley }}</ref> From 1386, Corfu was controlled by the [[Republic of Venice]], which in 1401 acquired formal sovereignty and retained it until the French Occupation of 1797.<ref name=EB1911/> Corfu became central for the propagation of the activities of the [[Filiki Etaireia]] among the [[Greek Diaspora]] and philhellenic societies across Europe, through nobles like [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]] and [[Dionysios Romas]].

===Venetian rule===
{{further|Ionian Islands under Venetian rule}}
[[File:I Corfu - Buondelmonti Cristoforo - 1420.jpg|thumb|15th-century map by [[Cristoforo Buondelmonti]]]]
[[File:Corfu citadel.jpg|thumb|The northern side of the Venetian [[Old Fortress, Corfu|Old Fortress]] at night. The ''Great Cross'' can be clearly seen as described in the [[#Palaio Frourio|Palaio Frourio]] section of this article.]]

From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the [[Ottoman Empire]] and became one of the most fortified places in Europe.<ref name="Keyssler1760"/> The fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the [[Adriatic]]. Corfu repulsed several [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sieges, before passing under [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] [[United States of the Ionian Islands|rule]] following the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref name=Scots>{{cite book |title=The Scots Magazine and Edinburgh Literary Miscellany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wV0AAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA916 |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1809 |publisher=Archibald Constable |volume=71 |page=916 |quote=Under the Venetians, in the middle ages, and down even to the seventeenth century, Corfu was esteemed the advanced bastion and bulwark of the Christian states, against the Ottoman power, when the Solymans and the Sclims menaced ...}}</ref><ref name="Norwich2007">{{cite book |author=John Julius Norwich |title=The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lN4ouZAUSrMC&pg=PT385 |access-date=6 July 2013 |date=4 December 2007 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-38772-1 |page=385 |quote=For Venice only a single bulwark remained: Corfu. The army that, early in 1716, the Grand Vizir flung against the citadel of Corfu consisted of 30,000 infantry and some 3,000 horse.}}</ref><ref name="of 1842">{{cite book |author=Elizabeth Mary Leveson-Gower Grosvenor Westminster|title=Narrative of a Yacht Voyage in the Mediterranean: During 1840–41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkQLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA250 |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1842 |publisher=J. Murray |page=250 |quote=Corfu thus became a strong bulwark against the Turks, whose frequent attacks were successfully repulsed. In 1716 it was besieged for forty-two days by a formidable Ottoman army and fleet, and several daring attempts were made to storm ...}}</ref><ref name="Phillips1822">{{cite book |author=Sir Richard Phillips |title=New Voyages and Travels: Consisting of Originals, Translations, and Abridgments; with Index and Historical Preface |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRIyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA63 |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1822 |publisher=C. Wiley |page=63 |quote=The town of Corfu, the bulwark of Italy and of the east, is Covered in all directions, towards the sea and land,}}</ref><ref name="Knox1767">{{cite book |author=John Knox |title=A New Collection of Voyages, Discoveries and Travels: Containing Whatever is Worthy of Notice, in Europe, Asia, Africa and America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcCvipadYhMC&pg=PA203 |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1767 |publisher=J. Knox |page=203 |quote=Some pieces by Castiglione, deserved particular notice, together with the last siege, and the new fortifications of Corfu, which is not only painted on a picture, but curiously modelled in wood. Corfu is not only a bulwark to the Venetians, against ...}}</ref><ref name="Setton1991">{{cite book |author=Kenneth Meyer Setton |title=Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XN51y209fR8C |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1991 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=978-0-87169-192-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XN51y209fR8C/page/n261 253] |quote=Thus the important stronghold of Corfu was protected (according to a dispatch of Antonio Priuli, proveditor generale da ... Morea would prove to be, for they were bulwarks against the Turks' intrusion into the Adriatic.17 Corfu was apparently ...}}</ref><ref name="Jervis-White-Jervis1852">{{cite book |author=Henry Jervis-White-Jervis |title=History of the island of Corfú and of the republic of the Ionian Islands |url=https://archive.org/details/historyislandco00jergoog |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1852 |publisher=Colburn and co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyislandco00jergoog/page/n144 126] |quote=...sister of Sixtus-Quintus, to the Book of Gold, the Holy Father having expressed his gratitude, the Venetians represented to him that the protection of Corfu and Candia, which were the two bulwarks of Christianity, cost them more than 500,000 ... |author-link=Henry Jervis-White-Jervis}}</ref>

Kerkyra, the "Door of Venice" during the centuries when the whole Adriatic was the [[Gulf of Venice]],<ref>"The Gulf of Venice runs for {{convert|800|mi|0|abbr=in}} 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 {{convert|800|mi|0|abbr=in}} away." ([[Pedro Tafur]] in 1436, ''[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/tafur.html#ch5 Andanças e viajes]'').</ref> remained in Venetian hands from 1401 until 1797, though several times assailed by Ottoman naval and land forces<ref name=EB1911/> and subjected to four notable sieges in [[Siege of Corfu (1537)|1537]], 1571, 1573 and [[Siege of Corfu (1716)|1716]], in which the strength of the city defences asserted itself time after time. The effectiveness of the powerful Venetian fortifications as well as the strength of some old Byzantine castles in [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]], [[Kassiopi Castle]], [[Gardiki Castle, Corfu|Gardiki]] and elsewhere, were additional factors that enabled Corfu to remain free. [[Will Durant]] claimed that Corfu owed to the [[Republic of Venice]] the fact that it was one of the few parts of Greece never conquered by the Ottomans.<ref>Will Durant. ''The Renaissance''. page 684. MJF Books. New York, 1981 {{ISBN|1-56731-016-8}}</ref>

A series of attempts by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] to take the island began in 1431 when Ottoman troops under [[Ali Bey Evrenosoglu|Ali Bey]] landed on the island. The Ottomans tried to take the city castle and raided the surrounding area, but were repulsed.<ref name="History of Corfu">{{cite web |url=http://www.corfuweb.gr/gb-history6.htm |title=History of Corfu |publisher=Corfuweb.gr |access-date=29 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411090942/http://www.corfuweb.gr/gb-history6.htm |archive-date=11 April 2009}}</ref>

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 Ottoman fleet landing and pillaging the island and taking 20,000 hostages as [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|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.<ref name="History of Corfu"/>

Thirty-four years later, in August 1571, Ottoman 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. Another castle, [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]], situated on the northwest coast near [[Palaiokastritsa]] (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning ''Old Castle place'') and located on particularly steep and rocky terrain, also held out. The castle is a tourist attraction today.<ref name="History of Corfu"/>
 
These defeats in the east and the west of the island proved decisive, and the Ottomans abandoned their siege and departed. Two years later they 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 Ottoman troops were forced to leave the city sailing away.<ref name="History of Corfu"/>

[[File:Gardiki Castle.jpg|thumb|Outer perimeter of the [[Gardiki Castle, Corfu|Gardiki Castle]] which provided defence to the southern part of the island]]

The [[Siege of Corfu (1716)|second great siege]] of Corfu took place in 1716, during the last [[Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–18)]]. After the conquest of the Peloponnese in 1715, the Ottoman fleet appeared in [[Buthrotum]] opposite Corfu. On 8 July the Ottoman fleet, carrying 33,000 men, sailed to Corfu from Buthrotum and established a beachhead at Ipsos.<ref name="History of Corfu"/> The same day, the Venetian fleet encountered the Ottoman fleet off the [[Corfu Channel]] 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 Ottomans 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 [[Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg|von der Schulenburg]] who commanded the defence of the island, were victorious once more.<ref name="History of Corfu from Corfu City Hall website"/><ref name="History of Corfu"/><ref name="History of Corfu from xenos website">{{cite web |url=http://www.corfuxenos.gr/History/venetian.htm |title=History of Corfu from xenos website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814153129/http://www.corfuxenos.gr/History/venetian.htm |archive-date=14 August 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 repulse of the Ottomans was widely celebrated in Europe, Corfu being seen as a bastion of [[western culture|Western civilization]] against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] tide.<ref name=Scots/><ref name="Cambridge Illustrated">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=neUKEvaYPZYC&pg=PA25 |access-date=6 July 2013 |year=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47033-9 |page=25 |quote=The Ottomans were a major and expanding presence in Europe, Asia, and Africa. ... The knights, their fortifications strengthened by bastions, resisted assaults and bombardment before accepting ... Ottoman naval pressure on Europe increased in the Mediterranean, with sieges of Corfu in 1537 (map 2) and Reggio in 1543.}}</ref> 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 legacy====
Corfu's urban architecture differs from that of other major 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-storeyed buildings on narrow lanes. The Old Town of Corfu has clear Venetian influence and is amongst the [[List of World Heritage Sites in Greece|World Heritage Sites in Greece]]. It was in the Venetian period that the city saw the erection of the first opera house ([[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]]) in Greece.

Many Venetian-speaking families settled in Corfu during these centuries; they were called [[Corfiot Italians]], and until the second half of the 20th century the ''[[Venetian language|Veneto da mar]]'' was spoken in Corfu. During this time, the local Greek language assimilated a large number of Italian and Venetian words, many of which are still common today. The internationally renowned Venetian-born British photographer [[Felice Beato]] (1832–1909) is thought to have spent much of his childhood in Corfu. Also many [[Italian Jews]] took refuge in Corfu during the Venetian centuries and spoke their own language ([[Italkian]]), a mixture of Hebrew-Italian in a Venetian or Apulian dialect with some Greek words.

Venetians promoted the [[Catholic Church]] during their four centuries of rule in Corfu. Today the majority of Corfiots are [[Greek Orthodox]], but the small Catholic minority (5%), living harmoniously with the Orthodox community, owes its faith to these origins. These contemporary Catholics are mostly families who came from [[Malta]], but also from [[Italy]], and today the Catholic community numbers about 4,000 ({{frac|2|3}} of Maltese descent), who live almost exclusively in the Venetian "Citadel" of [[Corfu City]]. Like other native Greek Catholics, they celebrate Easter using the same calendar as the [[Greek Orthodox]] church. The [[Cathedral of Saint James and Saint Christopher|Cathedral of St. James and St. Christopher]] in Corfu City is the see of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Corfu, Zakynthos and Cephalonia]].

The island served also as a refuge for Greek scholars, and in 1732, it became the home of the first academy of modern Greece.<ref name=EB1911/> A Corfu cleric 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.

The island's culture absorbed Venetian influence in a variety of ways; like other Ionian islands (see [[Cuisine of the Ionian islands]]), its local cuisine took in such elements and today's Corfiot cooking includes Venetian delicacies and recipes: "[[Pastitsada]]", deriving from the Venetian "Pastissada" (Italian: "[[Spezzatino]]") and the most popular dish in the island of Corfu, "[[Sofrito]]", "[[Strapatsada]]", "Savoro", "Bianco" and "Mandolato".

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px">
File:Corfu Pinargenti 1573.jpg|Venetian [[Old Fortress]], Map 1573
File:Venetian blazon in Corfu.jpg|Venetian [[blazon]] with the [[Lion of Saint Mark]], as frequently found on the [[New Fortress]] walls
File:Παλιό Φρούριο και Παλιά Πόλη από το Νέο Φρούριο.JPG|Panoramic view of [[Corfu (city)]] from the New Fortress
File:Detail of the south wing of the entrance at Kassiopi Castle.JPG|Detail of the south wing of the entrance at [[Kassiopi Castle]]
File:View of Kassiopi village from the castle.JPG|View of Kasiopi village from the castle
</gallery>

===19th century===
{{further|French departments of Greece|Septinsular Republic|United States of the Ionian Islands}}
[[File:Russian-Gun-on-Corfu.jpg|thumb|A Russian gun from the Russian-Ottoman occupation of Corfu in the beginning of the 19th century, [[Paleokastritsa]]]]

By the 1797 [[Treaty of Campo Formio]], Corfu was ceded to the [[French Revolution|French]], who occupied it for two years as the ''[[French departments of Greece|département]]'' of [[Corcyre]], until they were [[Siege of Corfu (1798–1799)|expelled]] by a joint [[Russian Empire|Russia]]n-Ottoman squadron under [[Admiral Ushakov]]. For a short time it became the capital of a self-governing federation of the [[Septinsular Republic|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 [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy]] fleet, which had captured all the other Ionian islands.<ref name=EB1911/>

Following the final defeat of [[Napoleon]] at the [[Battle of Waterloo]], the Ionian Islands became a [[British protectorate|protectorate]] of the United Kingdom by the [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Treaty of Paris]] of 5 November 1815 as the [[United States of the Ionian Islands]]. Corfu became the seat of the British [[Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands]].<ref name=EB1911/> The population of the island was 66,000 by 1848.<ref>{{cite book |title=The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge |date=1848 |publisher=Charles Knight |location=London |page=Vol IV, 939 |edition=First}}</ref>The period of British rule led to investment in new roads, an improved water supply system, and the expansion of the [[Ionian Academy]] into a university. During this period the [[Greek language]] became the official language.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Following a plebiscite the [[Second National Assembly of the Greeks at Athens]] elected a new king, Prince Wilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name [[George I of the Hellenes|George I]] and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. On 29 March 1864, the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]], [[Second French Empire|France]] and [[Russian Empire|Russia]] signed the [[Treaty of London (1864)|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.<ref name="History of Corfu"/>

In 1891, an anti-Semitic [[pogrom]] took place following a case of [[blood libel]], and riots ensued.<ref>
{{Cite web |title= Corfou |website= jguideeurope.org |language= fr |url= https://jguideeurope.org/fr/region/grece/corfou/ |access-date= March 8, 2025 }}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite web |title= Corfu |website= jewishvirtuallibrary.org |url= https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/corfu }}
</ref><ref>
{{cite journal |last1= Sekas |first1= Sakis |date= 2004 |title= The Port Jews of Corfu and the 'Blood Libel' of 1891: A Tale of Many Centuries and of One Event |journal= Jewish Culture and History |volume= 7 |issue= 1–2 |pages= 171–196 |doi= 10.1080/1462169X.2004.10512017 }}
</ref> 
As of May 1891, arson attempts had been unsuccessful and the British Parliament could not answer a question about whether some people had died.<ref>
{{Cite web |title= Anti-Jewish riots at Corfu |type= Question to Parliament: J. Goldsmid, 15 May 1891 |website= api.parliament.uk |url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1891/may/15/anti-jewish-riots-at-corfu |access-date= March 8, 2025 }}
</ref> 
Part of the Jewish population chose to leave the island, mainly for [[Thessaloniki]], the Ottoman territories being more welcoming. [[Albert Cohen (novelist)|Albert Cohen]]'s family left in 1900 and settled in [[Marseille]].<ref>
{{cite web |title= Sur les pas d'Albert Cohen à Corfou, l'île mosaïque |website= atelier-albert-cohen.org |language= fr |date= 2017 |url= https://www.atelier-albert-cohen.org/index.php/the-news/213-sur-les-pas-dalbert-cohen-a-corfou-lile-mosaique.html |access-date= March 8, 2025 }}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite web |last1= Gottheil |first1= Richard |last2= Caimi |first2= M. |title= Corfu |website= jewishencyclopedia.com |url= https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4656-corfu }}
</ref>

====British Lord High Commissioners during the protectorate====
[[File:Maitland Monument in Corfu.jpg|thumb|The Maitland Monument in Corfu town, built to commemorate [[Sir Thomas Maitland]]]]
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).<ref name="Catalan wiki">[[:ca:Història de Corfú]]</ref>
*[[Sir James Campbell, 1st Baronet|Sir James Campbell]] 1814–1816
*[[Sir Thomas Maitland]] (1759–1824) 1815–1823
*[[Frederick Adam|Sir Frederick Adam]] (1781–1853) 1823–1832
*[[Alexander Woodford|Sir Alexander Woodford]] (1782–1870) 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
*[[Henry George Ward|Sir Henry George Ward]] (1797–1860) 1849–1855
*[[John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar|Sir John Young]] (1807–1876) 1855–1859
*[[William Ewart Gladstone]] (1809–1898) 1859
*[[Henry Knight Storks|Sir Henry Knight Storks]] (1811–1874) 1859–1863
*Count Dimitrios Nikolaou Karousos, President of the [[United States of the Ionian Islands|Ionian Parliament]] (1799–1873) 1863–1864

=== First World War ===
{{further|Serbian army's retreat through Albania}}[[File:Serbs Corfu1916-1918.jpg|thumb|Serbian soldiers in Corfu during WWI]]

During the [[First World War]], the island served as a refuge for the Serbian army that retreated there on [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] forces' ships from a homeland occupied by the Austrians, Germans 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 Tomb]] (in Serbian, Плава Гробница, [[Plava Grobnica]]), after a poem written by [[Milutin Bojić]] following World War I.<ref name="Serbs in Corfu">
{{cite web |url=http://www.embassyscg.gr/Krf/KrfEng.htm |title=Serbs in Corfu website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928084606/http://www.embassyscg.gr/Krf/KrfEng.htm |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Interwar period===
In 1923, after a diplomatic dispute between Italy and Greece, Italian forces bombarded and occupied Corfu. The [[League of Nations]] settled this [[Corfu incident]] in Italy's favour.

===Second World War===
{{further|Axis occupation of Greece}}

====Italian occupation and resistance====
[[File:Bay of Garitsa.png|thumb|Bay of Garitsa]]

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 [[Italia irredenta|Irredentism]] and making Corfu part of the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. During the Second World War the [[10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade (Greece)|10th Infantry Regiment]] of the [[Hellenic Army|Greek Army]], composed mainly of Corfiot soldiers,<ref name="Corfu cityhall history page">{{Cite web|url=https://corfu.gr/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106230616/http://www.corfu.gr/en/history.htm|url-status=dead|title=Επίσημη Ιστοσελίδα Δήμου Κεντρικής Κέρκυρας και Διαποντίων Νήσων|archivedate=6 January 2008|website=Δήμος Κεντρικής Κέρκυρας και Διαποντίων Νήσων}}</ref> was assigned the task of defending Corfu. The regiment took part in ''Operation Latzides'', which was an unsuccessful attempt to stem the forces of the Italians.<ref name="Corfu cityhall history page" /> After Greece's surrender to the Axis, the island came under Italian control and occupation.<ref name="Corfu cityhall history page" /> On the first Sunday of November 1941, high school students from all over Corfu took part in [[student protest]]s against the occupying Italian army; these student protests of the island were among the first acts of overt popular [[Greek Resistance|Resistance]] in occupied Greece and a rare phenomenon even by wartime European standards.<ref name="Corfu cityhall history page" /> Subsequently, a considerable number of Corfiots escaped to [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]] in mainland Greece and enlisted as [[Partisan (military)|partisans]] in [[Ethnikos Laikos Apeleftherotikos Stratos|ELAS]] and [[Ethnikos Dimokratikos Ellinikos Syndesmos|EDES]], in order to join the resistance movement gathering in the mainland.<ref name="Corfu cityhall history page" />

====German bombing and occupation====
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-177-1459-32, Korfu, italienische Soldaten.jpg|thumb|Italian soldiers taken prisoner by the Germans in Corfu, September 1943]]

Upon the [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|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]]. The Nazi bombing raids destroyed most of the city's buildings, including churches, homes, and whole city blocks, especially in the Jewish quarter Evraiki. Other losses included the city's market (αγορά) and the hotel Bella Venezia. The worst losses were the historic buildings of the [[Ionian Academy]] (Ιόνιος Ακαδημία), the [[Municipal Theatre of Corfu|Municipal Theatre]] (which in 1901 had replaced the ''[[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]]''), the Municipal Library, and the Ionian Parliament.<ref name="Corfu cityhall history page"/>

Following the [[Operation Achse|Wehrmacht invasion]], 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 Nazi [[Military occupation|occupation]] government of the island.<ref name="USHMM">[http://www.ushmm.org/greece/eng/corfu.htm United States Holocaust Memorial Museum] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312043235/http://www.ushmm.org/greece/eng/corfu.htm |date=12 March 2007 }} on the Holocaust in Corfu. Also contains information about the Nazi collaborator mayor Kollas.</ref> In early June 1944, while the Allies bombed Corfu as a diversion from the [[Operation Overlord|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 concentration camp#Auschwitz II-Birkenau|Auschwitz II]], where most of them were [[Extermination camp#Gassings|murdered by gas]].<ref name="USHMM"/><ref name="SHOAH">From the interview of [[Holocaust survivors|a survivor]] in the film "[[Shoah (film)|Shoah]]"</ref> Approximately two hundred out of a total population of 1,900 escaped.<ref name="KIS">{{cite web |url=http://www.kis.gr/kerkyrahistory_en.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017000100/http://kis.gr/kerkyrahistory_en.html |archive-date=17 October 2007 |title=Central Jewish Council of Greece website |publisher=Kis.gr |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref> Many among the local population at the time provided shelter and refuge to those 200 Jews who managed to escape the Nazis.<ref name="USMM2">[https://web.archive.org/web/20040601224603/https://www.ushmm.org/greece/eng/corfu.htm United States Holocaust Memorial Museum] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208002541/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/greece/nonflash/eng/corfu.htm |date=8 December 2012 }}: "[...]two hundred of the 2,000 Corfu Jews found sanctuary with Christian families[...]"</ref> In ''Evraiki'' (Εβραική, meaning ''Jewish quarter''), there is currently a synagogue with about 65 members, who still speak their original [[Italkian]] language.<ref name="KIS"/>

====Liberation====
[[File:Douglas Column in Corfu.jpg|thumb|upright| [[Howard Douglas|Douglas']] column in the suburb of Garitsa]]

Corfu was liberated by [[British Armed Forces|British troops]], specifically the [[40th Royal Marine Commando]], which landed in Corfu on 14 October 1944, as the Germans were evacuating Greece.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/74/a3855774.shtml 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 July 2008</ref> The [[Royal Navy]] swept the Corfu Channel for mines in 1944 and 1945, and found it to be free of mines.<ref name="Corfu channel">{{Cite journal |jstor=2193642 |title=The Corfu Channel Case |journal=The American Journal of International Law |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=491–494 |last1=Wright |first1=Quincy |year=1949 |doi=10.2307/2193642 |s2cid=147423999 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A large minefield was laid there shortly afterwards by the newly communist Albania and gave rise to the [[Corfu Channel Incident]].<ref name="Corfu channel" /><ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=4548923&SearchInit=4&CATREF=ADM+116%2F5759 Corfu Channel Incident] Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies U.K. Retrieved 31 July 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |jstor=1226351 |title=The Corfu Channel Case: Judgment on the Preliminary Objection |journal=Stanford Law Review |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=646–657 |last1=Bancroft |first1=Harding F. |last2=Stein |first2=Eric |year=1949 |doi=10.2307/1226351}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ox_gXq2jpdYC&q=Royal+Navy+Corfu+Channel&pg=PA224 |title=Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia |isbn=9780815340577 |year=2001 |last1=Cook |first1=Bernard A.|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> This incident led to the [[The Corfu Channel Case (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v. People's Republic of Albania)|Corfu Channel Case]], where the United Kingdom opened a case against the [[People's Republic of Albania]] at the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref>{{cite news |title=World Court Gets Albanian Dispute |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 1947 |pages=1, 10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=David |title=World Court Finds Albania Liable in Corfu Mining of 2 British Ships |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 1949 |pages=1, 15}}</ref>

===Post–World 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 (head of state) of Greece [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]], was elected mayor of [[Corfu (city)|Corfu]] and became the first female mayor in Greece.<ref name="web.archive.org">[https://web.archive.org/web/20041015102214/http://www.corfu.gr/en/proties/desila.htm 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 on 15 April 1956 until 9 May 1959. She was the first female Mayor in Greece."</ref> The Corfu General Hospital was also constructed;<ref name="CGH">{{cite web |url=http://www.whealth.gr/index.php?MODULE=bce%2Fapplication%2Fpages&SiteID=229 |title=Corfu General Hospital |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225013700/http://www.whealth.gr/index.php?MODULE=bce%2Fapplication%2Fpages&SiteID=229 |archive-date=25 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> electricity was introduced to the villages in the 1950s, the radio substation of Hellenic Radio in Corfu was inaugurated in March 1957,<ref name="ERA">{{cite web |url=http://tvradio.ert.gr/radio/localhistory.asp?id=2184 |title=Corfu Radio Station History |publisher=Tvradio.ert.gr |access-date=29 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402210132/http://tvradio.ert.gr/radio/localhistory.asp?id=2184 |archive-date=2 April 2009}}</ref> and television was introduced in the 1960s, with internet connections in 1995.<ref>[http://alfa.corfumail.net/default.asp?id=28&mnu=28&LangID=Greek_Iso Alfa History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723054509/http://alfa.corfumail.net/default.asp?id=28&mnu=28&LangID=Greek_Iso |date=23 July 2011 }} Quote:''1995 The first in Corfu ISP by Alfa and Forthnet.''</ref> The [[Ionian University]] was established in 1984.

==Architecture==
[[File:Corfu Harbor 1890.jpg|thumb|The harbour of Corfu in 1890]]

===Venetian influence===
[[File:Corfu city by the sea.jpg|thumb|Old Corfu town as seen from the sea]]
Corfu's urban architecture influence derives from Venice, reflecting the fact that from 1386 to 1797 the island was ruled by the Venetians. The architecture of the Old Town of Corfu along with its narrow streets, the {{Transliteration|grc|kantounia}}, has clear Venetian influence and is amongst the [[List of World Heritage Sites in Greece|World Heritage Sites in Greece]]. Other notable Venetian-era buildings include the [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]], the first Greek opera house, and ''Liston'', a multi-level commercial and residential building, with an arched colonnade at ground level, lined with cafes and restaurants on its east side, and restaurants and other stores on its west side. Liston's main thoroughfare is often the site of parades and other mass gatherings. Liston is on the edge of the ''[[Spianada]]'' (Esplanade), the vast main plaza and park which incorporates a [[cricket]] field, a pavilion, and Maitland's monument. Also notable are the Old and New forts, the recently restored Palace of Sts. Michael and George, formerly the residence of the British colonial governor and the seat of the [[Ionian Senate]], and the summer Palace of ''[[Mon Repos, Corfu|Mon Repos]]'', formerly the property of the Greek royal family and birthplace of the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]. The Park of Mon Repos is built on part of the Palaiopolis of Kerkyra, where excavations were conducted by the Greek Archaeological Service in collaboration with academics and universities internationally. Examples of the finds can be found in the Museum of the Palace of Mon Repos and at the [[Archaeological Museum of Corfu]].<ref name="Artifacts">R. Winkes (editor), Kerkyra. Artifacts from the Palaiopolis, Providence 2004.</ref>

===The Achilleion===
{{Main|Achilleion (Corfu)}}
[[File:Closeup of Achilles thniskon in Corfu Achilleion autocorrected.JPG|thumb|left|Statue of ''Achilleús Thnēskōn'' (''[[Achilles]] Dying'') in the gardens of the Achilleion]]

In 1889, [[Elisabeth of Bavaria|Empress Elisabeth of Austria]] built a summer palace in the region of [[Gastouri]] (Γαστούρι) to the south of the city, naming it [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achílleion]] (Αχίλλειον) after the [[Homer]]ic hero Achilles. The structure is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles, both in the main hall and in the gardens, depicting scenes of the [[Trojan War]]. The palace, with the [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] Greek statues that surround it, is a monument to [[Platonism|platonic]] [[romanticism]] as well as [[escapism]]. It served as a refuge for the grieving Empress following the tragic death of her only son [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Crown Prince, Rudolf]].

[[File:Achilles in Corfu.jpg|thumb|upright|Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the Achilleion. He gazes northward, toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles. It was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II.]]

The Imperial gardens on the hill look over the surrounding green hills 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 language|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 (mythology)|Paris]]'s arrow from his heel. His classically depicted face is full of pain. He gazes skyward, as if to seek help from [[Twelve Olympians|Olympus]]. According to [[Greek mythology]], his mother [[Thetis]] was a goddess.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In contrast, at the great staircase in the main hall is a giant painting of the triumphant Achilles full of [[hubris|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 Empire|German]] [[Kaiser]] [[William II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]]. Following the Kaiser's purchase of the Achilleion, he invited archaeologist [[Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz]], a friend and advisor, to come to Corfu to advise him where to position the huge statue of Achilles which he commissioned. The famous salute to Achilles from the Kaiser, which had been inscribed at the statue's base, was also created by Kekulé. The inscription read:<ref name="Röhl1998">{{cite book |author=John C. G. Röhl |title=Young Wilhelm: The Kaiser's Early Life, 1859–1888 |url=https://archive.org/details/youngwilhelmkais00rohl |url-access=registration |access-date=4 May 2013 |year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-49752-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/youngwilhelmkais00rohl/page/297 297] |quote=After the purchase of the 'Achilleion', Kekule was invited by the Kaiser to go to Corfu to provide advice on the positioning of the ... 94 Without a doubt, Wilhelm's lifelong obsession with the statue of the Gorgon unearthed in Corfu stems from the ...}}</ref> {{blockquote|To the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German}} The inscription was subsequently removed after World War II.<ref name="MarkerBowman2010">{{cite book |author1=Sherry Marker |author2=John S. Bowman |author3=Peter Kerasiotis |title=Frommer's Greek Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOw1hbQ78H0C&pg=PA476 |access-date=4 May 2013 |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-52664-4 |page=476 |quote=Achilles that the Kaiser had inscribed, to the Greatest Greek from the Greatest German, a sentiment removed after World War II.}}</ref>

The Achilleion was eventually acquired by the Greek state and has now been converted into a museum.

===Kaiser's Bridge===
[[File:Kaiser's Bridge in Corfu.jpg|thumb|Remains of the Kaiser's bridge]]

German [[Wilhelm II of Germany|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 later named by the locals after him—the "Kaiser's bridge" (Greek: η γέφυρα του Κάιζερ transliterated as: i gefyra 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 are an important landmark on the highway. The bridge's central section was demolished by the [[Wehrmacht]] in 1944, during the German occupation of World War II, to allow for the passage of an enormous cannon, forming part of the Nazi defences in the southeastern coast of Corfu.<ref name="GilesFlamburiari1994">{{cite book |author1=Frank Giles |author2=Spiro Flamburiari |author3=Fritz Von der Schulenburg |title=Corfu: the garden isle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Evs-AQAAIAAJ&q=Kaiser%27s+Bridge+Corfu |access-date=4 May 2013 |date=1 September 1994 |page=109 |publisher=J. Murray in association with the Hellenic Group of Companies Ltd. |isbn=978-1-55859-845-4 |quote=Although subsequently demolished in 1944 to allow the passage of a huge German coastal gun beneath, the locality still bears the name "Kaiser's Bridge".}}</ref><ref name="Corfu map">[http://www.corfu-map.net/news/latest/municipality-of-achilleon.html Corfu map] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012142137/http://www.corfu-map.net/news/latest/municipality-of-achilleon.html |date=12 October 2007 }}: The bridge was destroyed during a German attack in World War II. The remains can still be seen today.</ref>

==Urban landscape==
===Old town===
{{Main|Corfu (city)}}
{{wide image|Corfu Town R02.jpg|800px|Panoramic view of parts of Old Town of Corfu as seen from Old Fortress. The Bay of Garitsa is to the left and the port of Corfu is just visible on the top right of the picture. [[Spianada Square]] is in the foreground.}}

The Old Town of [[Corfu (city)|Corfu city]] is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. In several parts of the old city, buildings of the [[Venice|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 side streets, and the old buildings' trademark arches are particularly reminiscent of [[Venice]].

The city of [[Corfu (city)|Corfu]] stands on the broad part of a peninsula, whose termination in the Venetian [[citadel]] ({{langx|el|Παλαιό Φρούριο}}) is cut off from it by an artificial [[moat|fosse]] formed in a natural gully, with a seawater moat at the bottom,<ref name=EB1911/> that now serves as a [[marina]] and is called the ''Contrafossa''. In the old town there are many narrow streets paved with cobblestones. These streets are known as {{Transliteration|grc|kantoúnia}} ({{langx|el|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 {{Interlanguage link|Liston (square){{!}}Liston|it|3=Liston}} arcade ({{langx|el|Λιστόν}}) to its west side, where restaurants and bistros abound.<ref name="Independent">{{Cite news |last=Packe |first=Cathy |date=22 November 2016 |title=The Complete Guide To: Corfu |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/complete-guide-corfu-851348.html |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427030450/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/complete-guide-corfu-851348.html |archive-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>

===Ano and Kato Plateia and the music pavilion===
{{main|Spianada}}
[[File:Music Pavilion in Corfu.JPG|thumb|The Music Pavilion in [[Spianada Square]] (Ano Plateia) with Palaio Frourio in the background. The philharmonics use it regularly for their free concerts.]]

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,<ref>[http://www.corfulife.co.uk/corfutown.html Corfu Life UK] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004235752/http://www.corfulife.co.uk/corfutown.html |date=4 October 2008 }} Quote: "The French were the ones who turned the Spianada into a public square and park – one of the biggest in Europe"</ref><ref>[http://www.sognefk.no/viktige%20filer/BROCHURE%20OF%20KERKYRA%20CUP%20IN%20ENGLISH.pdf Brohure of Kerkyra] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003065731/http://www.sognefk.no/viktige%20filer/BROCHURE%20OF%20KERKYRA%20CUP%20IN%20ENGLISH.pdf |date=3 October 2008 }} 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 the most impressive ones in the whole continent, to the square Spianada itself which is constructed similarlyto the Royal Gardens of Europe."</ref> 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 its gardens===
{{Main|Palace of St. Michael and St. George}}
[[File:Palaia Anaktora in Kerkyra. (cropped).jpg|thumb|View of the Palace of Saints Michael and George (Palaia Anaktora). The gates of St. Michael and St. George are on the left and right respectively. The gardens are to the right of the arch of St. George. The statue of Sir [[Frederick Adam]], a British governor of Corfu, is at the front.]]
[[File:Kipos tou Laou in Corfu.jpg|thumb|The ''Garden of the People'' at the [[Palace of St. Michael and St. George]] (Palaia Anaktora) with the Ionian Sea in the background]]

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 which formerly housed the Kings of Greece, and prior to that the [[List of Lord High Commissioners of the Ionian Islands|British Governors]] of the island. It was then called the Palace of Saints Michael and George. The [[Order of St. Michael and St. George]] was founded here in 1818 with motto ''auspicium melioris aevi'',<ref>{{harvnb|Stamatopoulos|1993|p=172}}: "The Palace of St. Michael and St. George (Plate III), which is generally considered the finest of the British buildings in ... seat of the Order of St. Michael and St. George which had been instituted in 1818 to honour distinguished British and local ..."</ref><ref name="Madden1985">{{cite book |author=A. F. Madden |title=Select Documents on the Constitutional History of the British Empire and Commonwealth: "The Empire of the Bretaignes," 1175–1688 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8ZN3sMulRcC&pg=PA690 |year=1985 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-23897-0 |pages=690–}}</ref> and is still awarded by the United Kingdom. Today the palace is open to the public and forms a complex of halls and buildings housing art exhibits, including a [[Museum of Asian Art (Corfu)|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|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, closed to visitors, descends to the sea from the gardens; the Greek royal family used it 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).

===Churches===
In the city, there are thirty-seven Greek churches, the most important of which 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 in the island,<ref name=EB1911/> and named after the two saints probably the first to preach Christianity to the Corfiots.

=== Pontikonisi ===
The nearby island, known as [[Pontikonisi]] (Greek 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 {{cvt|2|m|2}}. Pontikonisi is home of the monastery of Pantokrator (Μοναστήρι του Παντοκράτορος); the white stone staircase of the monastery, viewed from afar, gives the impression of a (mouse) tail, which lent the island its name.

==Archaeology==
===Palaiopolis===
In the city of Corfu, the ruins of the ancient city of Korkyra, also known as ''Palaiopolis'', include ancient temples which were excavated at the location of the palace of Mon Repos, which was built on the ruins of the Palaiopolis. The temples are: [[Kardaki Temple]], [[Temple of Artemis, Corfu|Temple of Artemis]], and the [[Temple of Hera, Mon Repos|Temple of Hera]]. Hera's temple is situated at the western limits of Mon Repos, close to [[Kardaki Temple]] and to the northwest.<ref name="JSTOR2">{{cite journal |author1=Sapirstein |first=Philip |date=1 January 2012 |title=The Monumental Archaic Roof of the Temple of Hera at Mon Repos, Corfu |journal=[[Hesperia (journal)|Hesperia]] |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=31–91 |doi=10.2972/hesperia.81.1.0031 |jstor=10.2972/hesperia.81.1.0031 |s2cid=193469029}}</ref> It is approximately 700 m. to the southeast of the [[Temple of Artemis, Corfu|Temple of Artemis in Corfu]].<ref name="JSTOR2"/> Hera's Temple was built at the top of Analipsis Hill, and, because of its prominent location, it was highly visible to ships passing close to the waterfront of ancient [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]].<ref name="JSTOR2"/>

===Kardaki Temple===
{{main|Kardaki Temple}}
[[File:Temple at Kardaki in Corfu.jpg|thumb|[[Kardaki Temple]]]]

Kardaki Temple is an [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] [[Doric order|Doric]] [[Greek temple|temple]] in Corfu, [[Greece]], built around 500 BC in the ancient city of [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] (or Corcyra), in what is known today as the location Kardaki in the hill of Analipsi in Corfu.<ref name="Johnson">{{cite journal |author1=Franklin P. Johnson |title=The Kardaki Temple |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=January 1936 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=46–54 |doi=10.2307/498298 |quote=This is the only Greek Doric building that is known to have had no frieze. |jstor=498298 |s2cid=191378100}}{{subscription required}}</ref> The temple features several architectural peculiarities that point to a Doric origin.<ref name="Johnson"/><ref name="DinsmoorAnderson1973">{{cite book |author1=William Bell Dinsmoor |author2=William James Anderson |title=The Architecture of Ancient Greece: An Account of Its Historic Development |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqahvzeE39YC&pg=PA92 |year=1973 |publisher=Biblo & Tannen Publishers |isbn=978-0-8196-0283-1 |page=92}}</ref> The temple at Kardaki is unusual because it has no [[frieze]], following perhaps architectural tendencies of Sicilian temples.<ref name=Acta>{{cite book |title=Acta Ad Archaeologiam Et Artium Historiam Pertinentia: 4o |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-VflAAAAMAAJ |year=1978 |publisher="L'Erma" di Bretschneider |page=47 |quote=In this respect it is surpassed only by the perhaps slightly later temple at Kardaki on Corfu (*), where the frieze was completely omitted. This is nothing but the logical consequence of the tendencies from the early Sicilian temples, where the ties...}}</ref>

It is considered to be the only Greek temple of Doric architecture that does not have a frieze.<ref name="Johnson"/> The spacing of the temple columns has been described as "abnormally wide".<ref name="RobertsonS.1969">{{cite book |author1=Robertson |first=D. S. |url=https://archive.org/details/greekromanarchit0000robe |title=Greek and Roman Architecture |date=May 1969 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-09452-8 |edition=2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/greekromanarchit0000robe/page/326 326] |author-link=Donald Struan Robertson |url-access=registration}}</ref> The temple also lacked both [[porch]] and [[adyton]], and the lack of a triglyph and [[metope]] frieze may be indicative of [[Ionians|Ionian]] influence.<ref name="Campbell2007">{{cite book |author=Campbell |first=Gordon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ur3pAAAAMAAJ |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-530082-6 |page=311 |quote=A second temple, at Kardaki on the east side of Corfu town, was also Doric but had 6 by 12 columns, and its cella had neither false porch nor adyton. The columns are widely spaced, and the unusual absence of a triglyph and metope frieze may be explained by the influence of Ionic forms.}}</ref> The temple at Kardaki is considered an important and to a certain degree mysterious topic on the subject of early [[ancient Greek architecture]]. Its association with the worship of [[Apollo]] or [[Poseidon]] has not been established.

===Temple of Artemis===
{{main|Temple of Artemis, Corfu}}
[[File:West Pediment from the Temple of Artemis in Corfu.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The full pediment of the temple of Artemis]]

The Temple of Artemis is an [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] [[Greek temple]] in Corfu, built in around 580 BC in the ancient city of [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] (or Corcyra), in what is known today as the suburb of Garitsa. The temple was dedicated to [[Artemis]]. It is known as the first [[Doric order|Doric]] temple exclusively built with [[limestone|stone]].<ref name="Darling"/> It is also considered the first building to have incorporated all of the elements of the [[Doric order|Doric architectural style]].<ref name=Excerpt>{{harvnb|Cruickshank|2000|p=18}}: "The island of Corfu, to the northwest of present-day Greece, off the coast of Albania, was an early colony of the city of Corinth and was under Corinthian control when its Temple of Artemis was constructed. A milestone in Greek architecture, this was the first building that was truly Doric. Many if not all of its Doric characteristics had appeared in earlier structures but here they were used for the first time as an ensemble."</ref> Very few Greek temple [[relief]]s from the Archaic period have survived, and the large fragments of the group from the [[pediment]] are the earliest significant survivals.

The temple was a [[peripteral]]–styled building with a [[pseudodipteral]] configuration. Its perimeter was rectangular, with width of {{cvt|23.46|m}} and length {{cvt|49|m}} with an eastward orientation so that light could enter the interior of the temple at sunrise.<ref name="Darling"/> It was one of the largest temples of its time.<ref name="Ancient Cities">{{harvnb|Gates|2003|pp=211–213}}.</ref>

The [[Metope (architecture)|metope]] of the temple was probably decorated, since remnants of reliefs featuring [[Achilles]] and [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]] were found in the ancient ruins.<ref name="Darling">{{harvnb|Darling|2004|pp=184–186}}.</ref> The temple has been described as a milestone of [[Ancient Greek architecture]] and one of 150 [[masterpiece]]s of [[Western world|Western]] [[architecture]].<ref name=Excerpt/> The Corfu temple architecture may have influenced the design of an archaic [[sanctuary]] structure found at the [[Sant'Omobono Area|Sant'Omobono archaeological site]] in [[Rome]], dating from the time of the [[Etruscans]], which incorporates similar design elements.<ref name="A Companion to Archaic Greece">{{harvnb|Houby-Nielsen|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=w6ZONBz1DKkC&pg=PA203 203]}}.</ref> If still in use by the 4th-century, the temple would have been closed during the [[persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire]], when the Christian Emperors issued edicts prohibiting non-Christian worship. [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]], while vacationing at his summer palace of Achilleion in Corfu and while Europe was preparing for war, was involved in excavations at the site of the ancient temple.

===Temple of Hera===
{{main|Temple of Hera, Mon Repos}}
[[File:20140418 corfu179.JPG|thumb|The ruins of the [[Temple of Hera, Mon Repos|Heraion]] in Palaiopolis]]

The Temple of Hera or Heraion is an [[Archaic Greece|archaic]] [[Greek temple|temple]] in Corfu, built around 610 BC in the ancient city of [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] (or Corcyra), in what is known today as ''Palaiopolis'', and lies within the ground of the [[Mon Repos, Corfu|Mon Repos]] estate.<ref name="Miles2016">{{cite book |author=Margaret M. Miles |title=A Companion to Greek Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lvAGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 |date=8 August 2016 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-3599-6 |page=169}}</ref><ref name="MarconiMarconi2007">{{cite book |author1=Marconi |first=Clemente |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THqZQfOzOysC&pg=PA219 |title=Temple Decoration and Cultural Identity in the Archaic Greek World: The Metopes of Selinus |date=5 February 2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85797-0 |page=219}}</ref><ref name="JSTOR2"/> The sanctuary of Hera at Mon Repos is considered a major temple, and one of the earliest examples of [[Ancient Greek architecture|archaic Greek architecture]].<ref name="JSTOR2"/>

Large [[terracotta]] figures such as lions, [[gorgoneion]]s, and [[Daidala]] maidens, created and painted in vivid colour by [[artisan]]s, who were inspired by [[myth]] traditions across the [[Mediterranean]], decorated the roof of the temple, making it one of the most intricately adorned temples of [[Archaic Greece]] and the most ambitious roof construction project of its time.<ref name="JSTOR2"/> Built at the top of Analipsis Hill, Hera's sanctuary was highly visible to ships approaching the waterfront of the ancient city of [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]].<ref name="JSTOR2"/>

The ''Digital Archaic Heraion Project at Mon Repos'' is a project that has undertaken the task of [[digitising]] the architectural fragments found at the Corfu Heraion with the aim to reconstruct in 3D the Temple at Palaiopolis in [[virtual space]].<ref name="mediterraneoantiguo">{{cite web |title=Philip Sapirstein: "el templo de Hera fue construido originalmente con la columnata de piedra" |url=https://mediterraneoantiguo.com/2016/09/16/philip-sapirstein-the-hera-temple-was-originally-constructed-with-the-stone-colonnade/ |website=mediterraneoantiguo.com |date=16 September 2016}}</ref>

===Tomb of Menecrates===
{{main|Tomb of Menecrates}}
[[File:Tomb of Menekrates in Corfu.jpg|thumb|[[Tomb of Menecrates]]]]
[[File:Lion of Menecrates at the Corfu Museum (cropped).jpg|thumb|The Lion of Menecrates, found near the tomb and thought to belong to the cenotaph]]

The Tomb of Menecrates or Monument of Menecrates is an [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] [[cenotaph]] in Corfu, built around 600 BC in the ancient city of [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] (or Corcyra).<ref name="Gardner1896">{{cite book |author=Gardner |first=Percy |url=https://archive.org/details/sculpturedtombso00garduoft |title=Sculptured Tombs of Hellas |publisher=Macmillan and Company, Limited |year=1896 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/sculpturedtombso00garduoft/page/200 200] |author-link=Percy Gardner}}</ref><ref name="Lorenzo2018">{{cite book |author=Luca Di Lorenzo |title=Corfù - La guida di isole-greche.com |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2BaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA205 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626214809/https://books.google.com/books?id=L2BaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA205 |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 June 2019 |date=9 May 2018 |publisher=Luca Di Lorenzo |isbn=978-88-283-2151-4 |page=205}}</ref> The tomb and the funerary sculpture of a lion were discovered in 1843 during demolition works by the [[British Army]] who were demolishing a Venetian fortress in the location of Garitsa hill in Corfu.<ref name="AMC">{{cite web |title=Funerary Archaic Lion |url=http://amcorfu.gr/en-us/Exhibits/-Lion-of-Menecrates |website=Archaeological Museum of Corfu |access-date=14 May 2019 |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514034643/http://amcorfu.gr/en-us/Exhibits/-Lion-of-Menecrates |url-status=dead}}</ref> The tomb is dated to the 6th century BC.<ref name="AMC"/>

The lion is dated at the end of the 7th century BC and it is one of the earliest funerary lions ever found.<ref name="AMC"/> The tomb and the lion were found in an area which was part of the [[necropolis]] of ancient Korkyra, which was discovered by the British army at the time.<ref name="AMC"/> According to an [[Ancient Greek]] inscription found on the grave, the tomb was a monument built by the ancient Korkyreans in honour of their [[proxenos]] (ambassador) Menecrates, son of Tlasios, from Oeiantheia. Menecrates was the ambassador of ancient [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] to Oeiantheia, modern day [[Galaxidi]] or [[Ozolian Locris]],<ref name="FisherWees1998">{{cite book |author1=Nick Fisher |author2=Hans van Wees |title=Archaic Greece: New Approaches and New Evidence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fARPDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |date=31 December 1998 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-58-8 |page=41}}</ref><ref name="Bazin1976">{{cite book |author=Germain Bazin |title=The History of World Sculpture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xl0kAQAAMAAJ&q=Tomb+of+Menekrates |year=1976 |publisher=Chartwell Books |page=127 |isbn=9780890090893 |quote=This lion was found near the tomb of Menekrates in the necropolis of ancient Kerkyra (modern Corfu). Menekrates was a Lokrian, the proxenos of the people of Kerkyra, according to a metric inscription on the grave monument.}}</ref> and he was lost at sea. In the inscription it is also mentioned that the brother of Menecrates, Praximenes, had arrived from Oeiantheia to assist the people of Korkyra in building the monument to his brother.<ref name="Odysseus">{{cite web |title=Το μνημείο του Μενεκράτη |url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/gh251.jsp?obj_id=5614 |website=Odysseus |access-date=14 May 2019 |archive-date=5 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105200004/http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/gh251.jsp?obj_id=5614 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Gardner1896"/>

===Other archaeological sites===
In [[Kassiopi|Cassiope]], the only other city of ancient importance, its name is still preserved by the village of Kassiopi, 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.

==Castles==
The castles of Corfu, located at strategic points on the island helped defend the island from many invaders and they were instrumental in repulsing repeated Turkish invasions, making Corfu one of the few places in Greece never to be conquered by the Ottomans.

===Palaio Frourio===
{{main|Old Fortress, Corfu}}
[[File:Palaio Frourio in Corfu.png|thumb|Palaio Frourio south elevation. The Venetian built [[moat]] is on the left and the Doric style St. George's Church built by the British can be seen in the background on the right.]]
[[File:View from Corfu fort.jpg|thumb|Yachts at anchor as seen from the fort]]

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 [[#Early history|cross]] at its apex; at the foot of the observatory lies St. George's church, in a classical style punctuated by six [[Doric Order|Doric]] columns,<ref name="St. George">{{cite web |url=http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?EntryID=27782 |title=St. George Article |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070311155015/http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?EntryID=27782 |archive-date=11 March 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> as opposed to the [[Hagia Sophia|Byzantine]] architectural style of the greater part of Greek Orthodox churches.

===Neo Frourio===
{{main|New Fortress, Corfu}}
[[File:New Venetian Fortress Corfu 06 2017 3254.jpg|thumb|View of the Neo Frourio]]

The ''new citadel'' or ''Neo Frourio'' (Νέο Φρούριο, "New Fortress") is a huge complex of fortifications built by the British during their [[United States of the Ionian Islands|rule of the island]] (1815–63) dominating the northeastern part of the city.<ref>{{harvnb|Stamatopoulos|1993|p=162}}: "The New Fortress was built on the hill of St. Mark between 1572 and 1645, the military engineer ..."</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2025}} The huge walls of the fortress loom over the landscape as one travels 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.

===Angelokastro===
{{main|Angelokastro (Corfu)}}
[[File:Angelokastro (Corfu).jpg|thumb|The Byzantine castle of [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]] in Corfu with the Ionian Sea in the background]]

Angelokastro ({{langx|el|Αγγελόκαστρο}} (Castle of Angelos or Castle of the Angel); {{Langx|vec|Castel Sant'Angelo}}) is a [[Byzantine]] [[castle]] on the island's northwest coast.<ref name="StamatopoulosAngelocastro">{{harvnb|Stamatopoulos|1993|pp=163–165, 325}}: "On a precipitous rocky peak dominating a wide range of coastline around Palaeokastritsa stand the crumbling walls and battlements of the twelfth-century Byzantine Fortress of Angelokastro, not far from the village of Krini." (p. 163); "After a siege lasting a year the invaders were finally driven away by the defenders of the fortress who were helped by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. Again, during the first great siege of Corfu by the Turks in 1537, Angelocastro successfully resisted attack. About 3,000 villagers had sought refuge within the fortress to escape the fate of the inhabitants of other parts of the island who were ... In 1571, when they once more invaded Corfu, the Ottomans again unsuccessfully attacked, Angelocastro, where 4,000 people had taken refuge. During the second great siege of the city by the Ottomans in 1716, Angelokastro once again served as a refuge for the ... During the course of the centuries Angelocastro played an important part in the defence of the island. In 1403 a force of Genoese soldiers, under the command of the French condottiere Boucicaut, landed at Palaeokastritsa and attacked ... The fortress existed in 1272 when it was formally taken over by the Italian Giordano di San Felice in the name of the Angevin rulers of Naples, who held the island of Corfu from 1267 to 1386." (p. 164); "...&nbsp;Angelocastro was probably built during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenos (1143 - 1180)." (p. 164); "This was used as a hermitage and was converted into a chapel, probably around the end of the eighteenth century" (p. 165); "From the top of Angelocastro the view sweeps far and wide over the hills across the breadth of Corfu, to the town, the Eastern Channel and the mountains on the mainland, over a sheer drop of a thousand feet to the sea below" (p. 325).</ref><ref name="Kordōsēs1981">{{cite book |author=Michaēl S. Kordōsēs |title=Symvolē stēn historia kai topographia tēs periochēs Korinthou stous mesous chronous |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmE_AQAAIAAJ&q=%CE%92%CF%85%CE%B6%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%BF+%CE%91%CE%B3%CE%B3%CE%B5%CE%BB%CF%8C%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%83%CF%84%CF%81%CE%BF |access-date=19 September 2013 |year=1981 |publisher=Vivliopōleio D.N. Karavia |page=140 |quote=Ή ύπαρξη βυζαντινών έρειπίων στή θέση Πατίμα δείχνει πιθανότατα ότι στό σημείο αύτό ύπήρχε βυζαντινός οικισμός. Δέν άποκλείεται, σέ δυσκολότερα χρόνια, ό πληθυσμός νά μετοίκησε άπό τή θέση αύτήστσν οχυρωμένο λόφο. Εκτός άπό τό βυζαντινό φρούριο, στήν περιοχή τοϋ Άγγελοκάστρου παρουσιάζουν ένδιαφέρον καί δυό παλιές έκ- κλησίες, πού ...Ο Buchon, που επισκέφθηκε το καστρο, υποθέτει οτι χτιστηκε ατα τελη του ΙΒ' αιώνα από καποιο μελος της οικογενειας των Αγγελων Κομνηνων, σε μια ταραγμένη εποχή που ευνοουσε προσωπα με κυρος να γινονται ανεξαρτητα απο το κεντρο. Τα τειχη του, γραφει, μαρτυρουν βιαστικη κατασκευή.}}</ref> It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island's shoreline, near [[Palaiokastritsa]], and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands {{cvt|1000|ft|0}} on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the [[Corfu (city)|City of Corfu]] and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.<ref name="StamatopoulosAngelocastro" /><ref name="BowmanKerasiotis2012">{{cite book |author1=John S. Bowman |author2=Peter Kerasiotis |author3=Sherry Marker |title=Frommer's Greece |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C9QJ5Ie0kAC&pg=PA567 |access-date=11 February 2013 |date=10 January 2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-20577-8 |page=567}}</ref>

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern [[Adriatic]] and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of [[Gardiki Castle, Corfu|Gardiki]] and [[Kassiopi Castle|Kassiopi]], which covered Corfu's defences to the south, northwest and northeast. The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat. During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle. Angelokastro, located at the western frontier of the Empire, was instrumental in repulsing the Ottomans during the first great siege of Corfu in 1537, in the siege of 1571 and the second great siege of Corfu in 1716 causing the Ottomans to fail at penetrating the defences of Corfu in the North. Consequently the Turks were never able to create a [[beachhead]] and to occupy the island.<ref>{{harvnb|Stamatopoulos|1993|pp=164–165}}: "Again, during the first great siege of Corfu by the Turks in 1537, Angelocastro ... and After a siege lasting a year the invaders were finally driven away by the defenders of the fortress who were helped by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. In 1571, when they once more invaded Corfu, the Turks again unsuccessfully attacked, Angelocastro, where 4,000 people had taken refuge. During the second great siege of the city by the Turks in 1716, Angelokastro once again served..."</ref>

===Gardiki Castle===
{{main|Gardiki Castle, Corfu}}
[[File:Corfu Gardiki Castle R03.jpg|thumb|Gardiki Castle]]

Gardiki Castle ({{langx|el|Κάστρο Γαρδικίου}}) is a 13th-century [[Byzantine]] castle on the southwestern coast of Corfu and the only surviving medieval fortress on the southern part of the island.<ref name="Publishing2012">{{cite book |author=DK Publishing |title=Top 10 Corfu & the Ionian Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhF3EHpH6PsC&pg=PT80 |date=1 May 2012 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-0-7566-9434-0 |page=80}}</ref> It was built by a ruler of the [[Despotate of Epirus]],<ref name="Edwards2003">{{cite book |author=Nick Edwards |title=The Rough Guide to Corfu |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetocorf00joh_hvu |url-access=registration |year=2003 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-84353-038-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetocorf00joh_hvu/page/223 223] |quote=On the other side of Mount Ayios Matheos. 2 km by road, is Gardiki Pirgos, the ruins of a thirteenth century castle built in this unlikely lowland setting by the despots of Epirus.}}</ref> and was one of three castles which defended the island before the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] era (1401–1797).

The location of Gardiki at the narrow southwest flank of Corfu provided protection to the fields and the southern lowlands of Corfu and in combination with [[Kassiopi Castle]] on the northeastern coast of the island and Byzantine [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]] protecting the northwestern shore of Corfu, formed a triangular line of defence which protected Corfu during the pre-Venetian era.<ref name="Edwards2003"/><ref name="Philippidēs1983">{{cite book |author=Dēmētrēs Philippidēs |title=Greek Traditional Architecture: Eastern Aegean, Sporades-Ionian Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l0tQAAAAMAAJ&q=Angelokastro |year=1983 |publisher=Melissa |volume=1 |page=222}}</ref><ref name=UNESCO3>{{cite web |title=The Old Town of Corfu Nomination for inclusion on the World Heritage List STATE PARTY Greece STATE, PROVINCE OR REGION Greece, lonian Islands Region, Corfu Prefecture NAME OF PROPERTY The Old Town of Corfu |url=https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/978.pdf |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |page=29 |quote=One thing is certain, however. The area under plough outside the walls increased, since the village communities multiplied across the entire island (if we are to judge from the Byzantine castles that have survived) in order to protect the fields. They are castles such as Kassiopi, Angelokastro and Gardiki and, of course, the Old Fortress which was the medieval town itself.}}</ref>

===Kassiopi Castle===
{{main|Kassiopi Castle}}
[[File:Main Gate Kassiopi Castle.JPG|thumb|upright|Main Gate of Kassiopi Castle]]

Kassiopi Castle ({{langx|el|Κάστρο Κασσιώπης}}) is a castle on the northeastern coast of Corfu overseeing the fishing village of [[Kassiopi]].{{sfn|Stamatopoulos|1993|p=166}} It was one of three Byzantine-period castles that defended the island before the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] era (1386–1797). The castles formed a defensive triangle, with [[Gardiki Castle, Corfu|Gardiki]] guarding the island's south, Kassiopi the northeast and [[Angelokastro (Corfu)|Angelokastro]] the northwest.<ref name="Philippidēs1983"/><ref name=UNESCO3 />

Its position at the northeastern coast of Corfu overseeing the [[Corfu Channel]] that separates the island from the mainland gave the castle an important vantage point and an elevated strategic significance.{{sfn|Stamatopoulos|1993|p=166}}

Kassiopi Castle is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands,<ref name="Young1977">{{cite book |author=Martin Young |title=Corfu and the Other Ionian Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVMjAQAAIAAJ&q=Angelokastro |year=1977 |publisher=Cape |isbn=978-0-224-01307-9 |page=108}}</ref> along with Angelokastro, [[Gardiki Castle, Corfu|Gardiki Castle]] and the two Venetian Fortresses of Corfu City, the [[Old Fortress, Corfu|Citadel]] and the [[New Fortress|New Fort]].<ref name="Young1977"/>

Since the castle was abandoned for a long time, its structure is in a state of ruin. The eastern side of the fort has disappeared and only a few traces of it remain. There are indications that castle stones have been used as building material for houses in the area. Access to the fortress is mainly from the southeast through a narrow walkway which includes passage from homes and backyards, since the castle is at the centre of the densely built area of the small village of Kassiopi.<ref name=Voyadjis>{{cite journal |script-title=el:Το κάστρο της Κασσιώπης, Κέρκυρα |url=https://www.academia.edu/3523419 |publisher=[[Academia.edu]], Ionian Society of Historical Studies |author=Sotiris Voyadjis |author2=Ασπασία Ραπτάκη |journal=Περί Ιστορίας, Τ. 5, 2007 |date=January 2007 |pages=13–34 |language=el}}</ref><ref name=Ephorate>{{cite web |script-title=el:Συνολική Ανάδειξη Κάστρου Κασσιώπης |url=http://www.yppo.gr/0/anaskafes/pdfs/21_EBA.pdf |publisher=21st Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of Greece |page=384 |language=el |access-date=8 May 2019 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041457/http://www.yppo.gr/0/anaskafes/pdfs/21_EBA.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Municipalities==
The three present municipalities of Corfu and Diapontia Islands were formed in the 2019 local government reform from the former municipality Corfu.<ref name="corfutvnews.gr"/><ref name=gazette>{{Cite web |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wFqnM3eAbJzrXdtvSoClrL87TVLbP6RgP3tIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6qSYtMQEkEHLwnFqmgJSA5UkHEKavWyL4FoKqSe4BlOTSpEWYhszF8P8UqWb_zFijOYvZQ9oVzh_eHrjhF2IgFB0wiv-nanwQoPLtSkFjBWO |title=Τροποποίηση του άρθρου 1 του ν. 3852/2010 |trans-title=Amendment of Article 1 of l. 3852/2010 |page=1164 |language=el |publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref>

*[[Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands]]
*[[North Corfu]]
*[[South Corfu]]

==Education==
===Ionian Academy===
{{main|Ionian Academy}}
[[File:Ionian Academy in daylight 2.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[Ionian Academy]] is the first academic institution of modern Greece. The building is now fully restored after the WWII Luftwaffe bombings.]]

The [[Ionian Academy]] was an institution that maintained the tradition of Greek education while the rest of Greece was still under Ottoman rule. The academy was established by the French during their administration of the island as the ''[[French departments of Greece|département]]'' of [[Corcyre]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Literary Panorama, and National Register |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2U3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA561 |year=1811 |publisher=Cox, Son, and Baylis |page=561}}</ref><ref name="Nikolaidēs2011">{{cite book |author=E. Nikolaidēs |title=Science and Eastern Orthodoxy: From the Greek Fathers to the Age of Globalization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTmYdDMdW6YC&pg=PA171 |date=15 December 2011 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-0298-7 |page=171}}</ref> and became a university during the British administration,<ref name="Nikolaidēs2011"/> through the actions of [[Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford]] in 1824.<ref name="Sandys1967">{{cite book |author=Sir John Edwin Sandys |title=A History of Classical Scholarship: The eighteenth century in Germany, and the nineteenth century in Europe and the United States of America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yA-86LdEU9EC&q=Ionian+Academy+established |year=1967 |publisher=Hafner Pub. Co. |page=369}}</ref> It is also considered the precursor of the Ionian University. It had Philological, Law, and Medical Schools.

===Ionian University===
{{main|Ionian University}}
[[File:Kapodistrias Home in Corfu.jpg|thumb|Ioannis Kapodistrias' ancestral home in Corfu town. Nowadays it houses the Translation Department of the Ionian University.]]

The Ionian University was established in 1984, in recognition, by the administration of [[Andreas Papandreou]], of Corfu's contribution to [[Education in Greece]], as the seat of the first Greek university in modern times,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ionio.gr/en/history/|title=IONIAN UNIVERSITY|website=ionio.gr}}</ref> the Ionian Academy. The university opened its doors to students in 1985 and today comprises three Schools and six Departments offering undergraduate and post-graduate degree programmes and summer schools.<ref name="Brochure – Ionian University">{{cite web |url=https://www.ionio.gr/central/gr/news/8737/ |title=Ionian University Brochure 2017 |publisher=www.ionio.gr}}</ref><ref name="Ionian University Summer Schools">{{cite web |url=https://www.ionio.gr/central/en/studies/summer-schools/ |title=Ionian University Summer Schools |publisher=www.ionio.gr}}</ref>

===Student activism===
In the modern era, beginning with its massive student protests during World War II against fascist occupation, and continuing in the fight against the dictatorship of [[Georgios Papadopoulos]] (1967–1974), students in Corfu have played a vanguard role in protesting for [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] and democracy in Greece, against both internal and external oppression. For Corfiotes a recent example of such heroism is that of geology student [[Kostas Georgakis]], who set himself ablaze in [[Genoa]], Italy on 19 September 1970, in a protest against the [[Greek military junta of 1967-1974]].

==Culture==
Corfu has a long musical, theatrical, and operatic tradition. The operas performed in Corfu were at par with their European counterparts. The phrase "applaudito in Corfu" (applauded in Corfu) was a measure of high accolade for an opera performed on the island. The [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]] was the first theatre and [[opera]] house of modern Greece and the place where the first Greek opera, [[Spyridon Xyndas]]' ''The Parliamentary Candidate'' (based on an exclusively Greek [[libretto]]) was performed.

=== Museums and libraries ===
[[File:Gorgon at the Artemis temple in Corfu.jpg|thumb|The [[Gorgon]] as depicted on the western [[pediment]] from the [[Temple of Artemis (Corfu)|Temple of Artemis]], on display at the [[Archaeological Museum of Corfu]]]]

The most notable of Corfu's museums and libraries are located in the city; these include:<ref name="Libraries and Museums from City Hall website">{{cite web |url=http://www.corfu.gr/en/tourism/archives.htm |title=Libraries and Museums from the City Hall website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106230632/http://www.corfu.gr/en/tourism/archives.htm |archive-date=6 January 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

*[[Archaeological Museum of Corfu|The Archaeological Museum]], inaugurated in 1967, was constructed to house the exhibit of the huge [[Gorgon]] [[pediment]] of the [[Temple of Artemis (Corfu)|Artemis temple in the ancient city of Korkyra]], excavated at Palaiopolis in the early 20th century. The pediment has been described by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as the "finest example of [[Archaic Greece|archaic]] temple sculpture extant".<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news |last=Frommer's Review |title=Archaeological Museum |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/greece/ionian-islands/corfu/28285/archaeological-museum/attraction-detail.html |access-date=26 September 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811102300/http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/greece/ionian-islands/corfu/28285/archaeological-museum/attraction-detail.html |archive-date=11 August 2011}}</ref> [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] had developed a "lifelong obsession" with the Gorgon sculpture, dating from seminars on Greek Archaeology the Kaiser attended while at the [[University of Bonn]]. The seminars were given by archaeologist [[Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz]], who later became the Kaiser's advisor.<ref name="Röhl1998"/> 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 [[Museum of Asian art of Corfu]] is located at the [[Palace of St. Michael and St. George]] (mainly Chinese and Japanese Arts); its unique collection is housed in 15 rooms, taking in over 12,000 artifacts, including a [[Greco-Buddhist art]] collection that shows the influence of [[Alexander the Great]] on Buddhist culture as far as [[Pakistan]] (see [[Greco-Buddhism]]).
*The [[Banknote Museum]], located in [[Saint Spyridon|Aghios Spyridon]] square, features a complete collection of Greek banknotes from independence to the adoption of the [[euro]] in 2002.
*The [[Byzantine Museum of Antivouniotissa]], a church converted into a museum featuring rare Byzantine art.
*[[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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bistika |first1=Eleni |date=22 February 2008 |script-title=el:Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας και 180 χρόνια ελληνορωσικών διπλωματικών σχέσεων, στο Κέντρο Ευρωπαϊκών Σπουδών... |trans-title=Ioannis Kapodistrias and 180 years of Greek-Russian diplomatic relations, at the Center for European Studies... |url=https://www.kathimerini.gr/opinion/708234/ioannis-kapodistrias-kai-180-chronia-ellinorosikon-diplomatikon-scheseon-sto-kentro-eyropaikon-spoydon/ <!--former URL at http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_columns_1_22/02/2008_260236--> |work=[[Kathimerini]] |language=el |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211081314/https://www.kathimerini.gr/opinion/708234/ioannis-kapodistrias-kai-180-chronia-ellinorosikon-diplomatikon-scheseon-sto-kentro-eyropaikon-spoydon/ |archive-date=11 December 2024 |script-quote=el:Η γενέτειρά του Κέρκυρα, ψύχραιμη, απολαμβάνει το προνόμιο να έχει το γοητευτικό Μουσείο Καποδίστρια στη θέση Κουκουρίσα{{nbsp}}... εξοχική κατοικία με τον μαγευτικό κήπο της οικογενείας Καποδίστρια, που η Μαρία Δεσύλλα – Καποδίστρια δώρισε στις τρεις κερκυραϊκές εταιρείες |trans-quote=His birthplace, Corfu, cool, enjoys the privilege to have the charming Museum Kapodistria in the location Koukourisa{{nbsp}}... summer residence with the enchanting garden of the Kapodistrias family, which Maria Dessyla Kapodistria donated to the three Corfiote societies }}</ref> Donated by Maria Desylla Kapodistria, grand niece of Ioannis Kapodistrias, former mayor of Corfu and first female mayor of Greece.
*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.
[[File:Corfu library at Palaio Frourio.jpg|thumb|Corfu library at Palaio Frourio]]
*The Public Library of Corfu is located at the old English Barracks, in Palaio Frourio.
*The Reading Society of Corfu has an extensive library of old Corfu manuscripts and rare books.
*The [[Serbian Museum of Corfu]] ({{Langx|sr|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 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.
*Solomos Museum and the Corfiot Studies Society.

===Patron Saint Spyridon===
[[File:Carrer i campanar de l'església de sant Espiridó, Corfú.JPG|thumb|The bell tower of the [[Saint Spyridon Church]] can be seen in the background among the busy {{Transliteration|grc|kantounia}} of the city centre. On top of the stores are apartments with balconies. It is from these type of balconies that Corfiots throw ''botides'', clay pots, to celebrate the Resurrection during Easter festivities.]]

[[Saint Spyridon]] the [[Thaumaturgy|Thaumaturgist]] (Miracle-worker, Θαυματουργός) is the [[patron saint]] (πολιούχος) of the city and the island. St. Spyridon is revered for the miracle of expelling the plague (πανώλη) from the island, among 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; to St. Spyridon is also attributed the role of saving the island at the [[Siege of Corfu (1716)|second great siege of Corfu in 1716]].<ref name="Holland2012">{{cite book |author=Robert Holland |title=Blue-Water Empire: The British in the Mediterranean since 1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QRXc7pr9DQC&pg=PT506 |date=26 January 2012 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-1-84614-555-1 |page=506}}</ref><ref name="Freely2008">{{cite book |author=John Freely |title=The Ionian Islands: Corfu, Cephalonia and Beyond |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VIBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA44 |date=30 April 2008 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-0-85771-828-0 |page=44}}</ref> The legend says that the sight of St. Spyridon approaching Ottoman forces bearing a flaming torch in one hand and a cross in the other caused [[panic]].<ref name="History of Corfu"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Essential Corfu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38kVAQAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=AA Publishing |isbn=978-0-7495-0921-7 |page=11 |quote=A dreadful storm - coupled with the rumour that St Spyridon was threatening the Turkish army with a flaming torch - broke the Turks' ...}}</ref><ref name="Lor1978">{{cite book |author=Michael Pratt, Lor |title=Britain's Greek Empire: Reflections on the History of the Ionian Islands from the Fall of Byzantium |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ekkAAAAYAAJ |year=1978 |publisher=[[Rex Collings]] |isbn=978-0-86036-025-4 |page=47 |quote=refers to the 1716 siege, when Spyridon is meant to have frightened away the Turks;}}</ref> The legend also states that the Saint caused a tempest which was partly responsible for repulsing the Ottomans.<ref name="FacarosPauls2007">{{cite book |author1=Dana Facaros |author2=Michael Pauls |title=The Greek Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qaRK8RM3Z0cC&pg=PA450 |year=2007 |publisher=New Holland Publishers |isbn=978-1-86011-325-3 |page=450}}</ref> This victory over the Ottomans, therefore, was attributed not only to the leadership of Count [[Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg|Schulenburg]] who commanded the stubborn defence of the island against Ottoman 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.<ref name="History of Corfu"/> 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.<ref name="Baroque music">{{cite web |url=http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxvivaldi.html |title=Baroque Music |access-date=20 October 2007 |archive-date=26 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126191907/http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxvivaldi.html |url-status=dead}} ''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.''</ref>
Hence Spyridon is a popular first name for Greek males born on the island and/or to islanders.

===Music===

====Musical history====
[[File:Manzaro.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|[[Nikolaos Mantzaros]], major representative of the [[Ionian School (music)|Ionian School of music]]]]

While much of present-day Greece was under Ottoman rule, the Ionian Islands enjoyed a Golden Age in music and opera. Corfu was the capital city of a Venetian protectorate and it benefited from a unique musical and theatrical heritage. Then in the 19th century, as a [[Protectorate|British Protectorate]], Corfu developed a musical heritage of its own and which constitutes the nucleus of modern Greek musical history. Until the early 18th century, musical life took place in city and village squares, with performances of straight or musical comedies – known as Momaries or Bobaries. From 1720, Corfu became the possessor of the first theatre in post-1452 Greece. It was the Teatro San Giacomo (now the City Hall) named after the nearby Roman Catholic cathedral (completed in 1691).<ref>Corfu the Garden Isle, editor Frank Giles, John Murray 1994, {{ISBN|0-7195-5375-X}}</ref>

The island was also the center of the [[Ionian School (music)|Ionian School of music]], the musical production of a group of Heptanesian composers, whose heyday was from the early 19th century till approximately the 1950s. It was the first school of classical music in Greece and it was a heavy influence for the later Greek music scene, after the [[Greek War of Independence|independence]].

====The three Philharmonics====
[[File:Corfu Marching Band.JPG|thumb|A marching band from [[Austria]], a frequent visitor, through the Corfu landmark of {{Interlanguage link|Liston (square){{!}}Liston|it|3=Liston}}. In the background is the western arch of the [[Palace of St. Michael and St. George]].]]

Corfu's Philharmonic Societies provide free instruction in music, and continue to attract young recruits. There are nineteen such marching wind bands throughout the island. <br />Corfu city is home to the three most prestigious bands – in order of seniority:
*the [[Philharmonic Society of Corfu]] use dark blue uniforms with dark red accents, and blue and red helmet plumes. It is usually called the ''Old Philharmonic'' or simply the ''Paliá'' ("Old"). Founded 12 September 1840.
*the [[Nikolaos Mantzaros|Mantzaros]] Philharmonic Society use blue uniforms with blue and white helmet plumes. It is commonly called the ''Néa'' ("New"). Founded 25 October 1890.
*the [[John Capodistria|Capodistria]] Philharmonic Union use bright red and black uniforms and plumes. It is commonly called the ''Cónte Capodístria'' or simply the ''Cónte'' ("[[Count]]"). It is the juniormost of the three (founded 18 April 1980).
All three maintain two major bands each, the main marching bands that can field up to 200 musicians on grand occasions, and the 60-strong student ''bandinas'' meant for lighter fare and on-the-job training.

The bands give regular summer weekend promenade concerts at the Spianada Green [[gazebo|"''pálko''"]], and have a prominent part in the yearly Holy Week ceremonies.

====Ionian University music department====
[[File:Ionian University Music Laboratory.jpg|thumb|The music lab of the Ionian university located at the old fortress]]
Since the early 1990s a music department has been established at the [[Ionian University]]. Aside from its academic activities, concerts in Corfu and abroad, and musicological research in the field of Neo-Hellenic Music, the Department organizes an international music academy every summer, which gathers together both international students and professors specialising in [[Brass instrument|brass]], [[strings (music)|strings]], singing, [[jazz]] and [[musicology]].

===Theatres and operatic tradition===
====Teatro di San Giacomo====
{{Main|Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù}}
[[File:KerkyraDimarheio.jpg|thumb|[[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]] was the first theatre and opera house of modern Greece.]]

Under [[Republic of Venice|Venetian rule]], the Corfiotes developed a fervent appreciation of Italian opera, which was the real source of the extraordinary (given conditions in the mainland of [[Greece]]) musical development of the island during this era.<ref name="BirthofGreekopera">[http://www.donizettisociety.com/Articles/ArticleMantzaros/BirthofGreekopera.pdf Birth of Greek opera Paper] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016155757/http://www.donizettisociety.com/Articles/ArticleMantzaros/BirthofGreekopera.pdf |date=16 October 2015 }} Kostas Kardamis "San Giacomo and Greek ottocento"XI Convegno Annuale di Società Italiana di Musicologia [[Lecce]], 22–24 October 2004</ref> The opera house of Corfu during the 18th and 19th centuries was the [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù|Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo]], named after the neighbouring Catholic cathedral; it was later converted into the City Hall.<ref name="BirthofGreekopera"/> It was both the first theatre and first [[opera house]] of Greece in modern times and the place where the first Greek opera (based on an exclusively Greek [[libretto]]), [[Spyridon Xyndas]]' ''The Parliamentary Candidate'' was performed.<ref name="BirthofGreekopera"/> A long series of local composers, such as [[Nikolaos Mantzaros]], [[Spyridon Xyndas]], [[Antonio Liberali]], [[Domenico Padovani]], the [[Zante|Zakynthian]] [[Pavlos Carrer]], the [[Lambelet]] family, [[Spyridon Samaras]], and others, all developed careers intertwined with the theatre.<ref name="BirthofGreekopera"/> San Giacomo's place was taken by the Municipal Theatre in 1902, which maintained the operatic tradition vividly until its destruction during [[Axis occupation of Greece during World War II|German air raid]] in 1943.<ref name="BirthofGreekopera"/>

The first opera to be performed in the San Giacomo was in 1733 ("[[Hiero I|Gerone]], [[tyrant|tiranno]] di [[Syracuse, Sicily|Siracusa]]"),<ref name="BirthofGreekopera"/> and for almost two hundred years, between 1771 and 1943, nearly every major opera from the [[Italian culture|Italian]] tradition, as well as many others from Greek and French composers, were performed on the stage of the San Giacomo; this tradition continues to be reflected in Corfiote operatic history, a fixture in famous opera singers' itineraries.<ref name="History of the theatre">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080204022549/http://www.corfu.gr/en/profil/theatro.htm History of the theatre] from Corfu cityhall</ref>

====Municipal Theatre of Corfu====
{{Main|Municipal Theatre of Corfu}}
[[File:Kerkyra old theatre.jpg|thumb|The Municipal Theatre of Corfu, which in the early 20th century replaced the legendary Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo. This photograph shows the theatre prior to the 1943 [[Luftwaffe]] bombardment and its subsequent destruction during WWII.]]
[[File:New Municipal Theatre of Corfu (2).jpg|thumb|The new municipal theatre]]

The [[Municipal Theatre of Corfu]] ({{langx|el|Δημοτικό Θέατρο Κέρκυρας}}) was the main theatre and [[opera house]] in Corfu.<ref name="History of the municipal theatre">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080204022549/http://www.corfu.gr/en/profil/theatro.htm History of the municipal theatre] from Corfu cityhall</ref> Opened in 1902, the theatre was the successor of [[Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù]] which became the Corfu city hall. It was destroyed during a [[Luftwaffe]] aerial bombardment in 1943.<ref name="History of the municipal theatre"/>

During its 41-year history, it was one of the premier theatres and opera houses in Greece, and as the first theatre in Southeastern Europe,<ref name="History of the municipal theatre"/> it contributed to the arts and to the history of the [[Balkans]] and of Europe.<ref name=Horton>{{cite book |last=Horton |first=John Joseph |title=Yugoslavia |year=1990 |publisher=Clio Press |editor=John Joseph |edition=2 |isbn=978-1-85109-105-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yc4UAQAAIAAJ&q=Municipal+Theatre+of+Corfu |quote=The addition of the Greek island of Corfu to the south, where the declaration of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was made at the municipal theatre in 1918 |page=12}}</ref><ref name="History of the municipal theatre"/><ref name="HirstSammon2014">{{cite book |author1=Anthony Hirst |author2=Patrick Sammon |title=The Ionian Islands: Aspects of their History and Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdIxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA343 |date=26 June 2014 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-6278-3 |page=343 |quote=After 1818, when an opera composed by Rossini was first scheduled for presentation in Corfu, operas by Rossini predominated over works composed by earlier or contemporary artists. This development reflected a general change in Europe, clearly illustrated by the performance of Wagner's Lohengrin in Italian for the inauguration of the new Municipal Theatre of Corfu (1902)}}</ref> The archives of the theatre, including the historical San Giacomo archives, all valuables and art were destroyed in the Luftwaffe bombing with the sole exception of the stage curtain, which was not in the premises the night of the bombing and thus escaped harm; among the losses are believed to have been numerous manuscripts of the work of [[Spyridon Xyndas]], composer of the first opera in Greek.<ref name="History of the municipal theatre"/>

===Festivities===
====Easter====
On [[Good Friday]], from the early afternoon onward, the bands of the three Philharmonic Societies, separated into squads, accompany the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|Epitaph processions]] of the city churches. Late in the afternoon, the squads come together to form one band in order to accompany the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|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|Verdi]]'s ''Marcia Funebre'' from [[Don Carlo]], and the Capodistria play [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]]'s ''Funeral March'' and [[Angelo Mariani (conductor)|Mariani]]'s ''Sventura''.<ref name="Easter">{{cite web |url=http://www.corfu.gr/en/culture/easter.htm |title=Corfu city hall website on Easter festivities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214202647/http://www.corfu.gr/en/culture/easter.htm |archive-date=14 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On Holy Saturday morning, the three city bands again take part in the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|Epitaph processions]] of St. Spyridon Cathedral in procession with the Saint's relics.<ref name="Easter"/> 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|Faccio]]'s ''[[Amleto]]'', and the Capodistria playing the ''Funeral March'' from [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|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 , at exactly 11:00 AM, 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 {{Interlanguage link|Liston (square){{!}}Liston|it|3=Liston}} and in an organised fashion.<ref name="Easter"/> This is enacted in anticipation of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is to be celebrated that same night,<ref name="Easter"/> 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.<ref name="Band rivalry">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE1yagErUbQ |title=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 |website=[[YouTube]]|date=28 April 2008 }}</ref> The march, which functions as the anthem of the island, was composed during the period of Venetian rule, and its lyrics include: "Greeks, never fear, we are all enslaved: you to the Turks, we to the Venetians, but one day we shall all be free".{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

====Ta Karnavalia====
Another venerable Corfu tradition is known as the [[Carnival]] or ''Ta Karnavalia''. Venetian in origin, festivities include a parade featuring the main attraction of ''Karnavalos'', a rather [[grotesque]] figure with a large head and smiling face, leading a diverse procession of colourful [[Float (parade)|float]]s.<ref name="Karnavalia">{{cite web |url=http://www.corfu.gr/en/culture/carnav.htm |title=Corfu city hall website on Karnavalia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214202625/http://www.corfu.gr/en/culture/carnav.htm |archive-date=14 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Corfiots, young and old, dress up in colourful costumes and follow the parade, spilling out into the area's narrow streets ({{Transliteration|grc|kantounia}}) and spreading the festivities across the city,<ref name="Karnavalia"/> dancing and socialising. At night, dance and costume parties are traditional.<ref name="Karnavalia"/>

==Cultural depictions==
===In myth===
*It is in Corfu that [[Heracles]], just before embarking on his ten labours, slept with the [[naiad]] [[Melite (naiad)|Melite]]; their son was Hyllus (not to be confused with [[Hyllus]], the leader of the [[Heraclids]], also a son of Heracles).<ref name="Heracles">{{cite web |url=http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/twelvelabors.htm |title=Hercules slept with a minor goddess named Melite and she bore him a son named Hyllus (not to be confused with Hyllus, Hercules' son by Deianeira) |publisher=Marvunapp.com |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref>
*Corfu marks the [[Argonauts]]' refuge from the avenging [[Colchis|Colchic]] fleet, after their seizure of the [[Golden Fleece]].<ref name="History of Corfu"/>
*In the mythical sea adventure of [[Homer]]'s [[Odyssey]], Kerkyra is the island of the [[Phaeacians]], (Phaiakes) wherein [[Odysseus]] (Ulysses) meets [[Nausicaa|Nausica]], the daughter of King [[Alcinous|Alkinoos]]. The bay of [[Palaiokastritsa]] is considered to be the place where Odysseus disembarked.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/travel/2008/07/06/the-true-corfu-get-off-the-beaten-track-and-discover-hidden-gems-98487-20632061/ |title=Mirror Newspaper Travel section |website=[[Daily Mirror]] |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606022053/http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/travel/2008/07/06/the-true-corfu-get-off-the-beaten-track-and-discover-hidden-gems-98487-20632061/ |archive-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===In literature===
*British naturalist [[Gerald Durrell]] wrote three books about his 1935–1940 childhood on Corfu: ''[[My Family and Other Animals]]''; ''[[Birds, Beasts and Relatives]]''; and ''[[The Garden of the Gods]]''. His brother, literary author [[Lawrence Durrell]], also wrote a volume about Corfu: ''Prospero's Cell: A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Corcyra (Corfu)''.
*[[Mary Stewart (novelist)|Mary Stewart]]'s novel ''[[This Rough Magic]]'' is set in Corfu.
*[[Prospero]]'s island in [[Shakespeare]]'s final play, ''[[The Tempest]]'', is often said to have been based on Corfu.
*[[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]] twice wrote of Corfu as an island paradise: the first poem appeared in ''Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book'' for 1835, to a picture by [[Thomas Allom]];<ref>{{cite wikisource |last1=Landon |first1=Letitia Elizabeth |author-link1=Letitia Elizabeth Landon |title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835 |wslink=Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835 |year=1834 |publisher=H. Fisher, R. Fisher & P. Jackson |location=London |oclc=719444173 |at=p. 31–32, plate 17 |chapter=Corfu |noicon=y }}</ref> and the second in the same publication for 1838, to a picture by [[Charles Bentley (painter)|Charles Bentley]] titled ''Corfu and Manduchio from Mount Olivet''.<ref>{{cite wikisource |last1=Landon |first1=Letitia Elizabeth |title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 |wslink=Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 |year=1837 |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co. |location=London & Paris |oclc=719444173 |at=p. 48, plate 33 |chapter=Corfu |noicon=y }}</ref> A third poem of hers, paired with and based on an engraving of a painting by [[Samuel Prout]] depicting a city scene in Corfu, was published in the ''Scrap Book'' for 1837.<ref>{{cite wikisource |last1=Landon |first1=Letitia Elizabeth |title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 |wslink=Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 |year=1836 |publisher=Fisher, Son, & Co. |location=London & Paris |oclc=719444173 |at=p. 36, plate 22 |chapter=Strada Reale—Corfu |noicon=y }}</ref>
*[[Humbert Humbert]]'s first love, [[Annabel Leigh]], is said to have died of typhus in Corfu in a scene of [[Vladimir Nabokov]]'s ''[[Lolita]]''.
*[[Albert Cohen (novelist)|Albert Cohen]] wrote three books which are partially or entirely set in Corfu. They are: ''Mangeclous'', ''Les Valeureux'', and ''[[Belle du Seigneur]]''. Cohen himself was born on the island.
*[[Voltaire]] references two monks from Corfu in Chapter XXVIII of [[Candide]]

===In film===
*Corfu was one of the main locations featured in the 1970 film ''[[The Executioner (1970 film)|The Executioner]]'' starring [[George Peppard]] and [[Joan Collins]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/404?ReturnTo=http%3A%2F%2Fprod.tcm.com%2Ftcmdb%2Ftitle.jsp|title=Turner Classic Movies - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref>
*Corfu was one of the settings of ''[[The Burglars]]'', a 1971 film starring [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]] and [[Omar Sharif]].
*''[[The Countess of Corfu]]'' (''{{langx|el|Η Κόμησσα Της Κέρκυρας}}''), a 1972 film starring [[Rena Vlahopoulou]] and [[Alekos Alexandrakis]], was filmed in Corfu.
*Much of the 1978 [[Billy Wilder]] film ''[[Fedora (1978 film)|Fedora]]'' is set in Corfu and filmed on location.
*Some scenes of the 1978 film ''[[The Greek Tycoon]]'' starring [[Anthony Quinn]] and [[Jacqueline Bisset]] were filmed in Corfu.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Greek Tycoon (1978) - Filming & production - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077636/locations/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Actors Jacqueline Bisset and Anthony Quinn filming "The Greek Tycoon"...|url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/actors-jacqueline-bisset-and-anthony-quinn-filming-the-news-photo/1249215203|website=Getty Images|date=2023-03-24|accessdate=2024-03-26|language=en-gb}}</ref> The film is a fictionalized account of the life of the Greek shipping magnate, [[Aristotle Onassis]].
*The 1980 French comedy ''[[Jupiter's Thigh]]'' starring [[Annie Girardot]] and [[Philippe Noiret]] includes some scenes in [[Corfu Town]].<ref>{{Citation |title=On a volé la cuisse de Jupiter (1980) - Filming & production - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081276/locations/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>
*The 1981 James Bond movie ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' has a number of scenes filmed in Corfu. The most memorable scene of the film to be bound with the island is of the underwater ancient Greek temple, with a huge turtle swimming in front of the camera; a casino scene was also filmed at the [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]].<ref name="Bond Casino">{{cite web |url=http://www.007.info/FactfileFYEO.asp |title=007 Fact website |publisher=007.info |date=24 June 1981 |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref> Other scenes filmed here include those tracing 'Melina' and James' walk through the city's streets, and Melina being greeted by Bond at Pontikonisi island. A major action element was filmed on the largest sandy beach on the island, Issos Beach in Agios Georgios South, involving a beach buggy chase along the dunes. The film's scene depicting a Greek wedding was filmed at the Bouas-Danilia traditional village (Μπούας Δανίλια παραδοσιακό χωριό).<ref name="Bond Casino"/> Action scenes were also filmed at Neo Frourio.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079574/locations |title=imdb |website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>
*The 1984 Greek film "Η Τιμή της Αγάπης" (''The Price of Love''), directed by [[Tonia Marketaki]] is a tragic love story taking place in Corfu. It is based on the novel ''Honour and Money'' by Konstantinos Theotokis.<ref name=Tainiothiki>{{cite web |title=The Price of Lave |url=http://www.tainiothiki.gr/v2/filmography/view/1/2290/ |publisher=Tainiothiki |language=el |access-date=4 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301062947/http://www.tainiothiki.gr/v2/filmography/view/1/2290 |archive-date=1 March 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Corfu is also the setting of a 1987 [[BBC]] TV series version, and a 2005 BBC movie version, of ''[[My Family and Other Animals]]'', [[Gerald Durrell]]'s book about his childhood in Corfu in the late 1930s
*''[[The Gaze of the Gorgon]]'' (1992): a poem-film for [[BBC]] television by British poet [[Tony Harrison]]. The film examines the politics of conflict in the 20th century using the Gorgon as a metaphor. The imaginary narration of the film is done through the mouth of German-Jewish poet [[Heinrich Heine]]. The film describes the connection between the Corfu Gorgon at the [[Artemis Temple of Corfu]] and [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]].<ref>{{cite web |last=BFI |title=The Gaze of the Gorgon |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/478387?view=synopsis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213075155/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/478387?view=synopsis |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-12-13}}</ref><ref name="Merten2004"/> Harrison concludes his 1992 film-poem by making a proposal that in the [[List of European Council meetings|1994 European Union summit in Corfu]], Heine's statue be returned to Corfu on time to preside over the new Europe so that EU can keep its eyes open and not turn to stone from the Gorgon's gaze.<ref name=Merten2004>{{cite book |last=Merten |first=Karl |title=Antike Mythen – Mythos Antike: posthumanistische Antikerezeption in der englischsprachigen Lyrik der Gegenwart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dg6tAf3x1zIC&pg=PA106 |access-date=4 May 2013 |year=2004 |publisher=Wilhelm Fink Verlag |isbn=978-3-7705-3871-3 |pages=105–106 |quote=der Räume und Kunstwerke des Achilleions hat, von entsprechendem dokumentarischem Filmmaterial begleitet.}}</ref><ref name="The Independent1">{{cite news |title=Sunny side up but it's no yolk at all |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/television--sunny-side-up-but-its-no-yolk-at-all-1555475.html |access-date=9 May 2013 |newspaper=The Independent |date=4 October 1992 |first=Allison |last=Pearson}}</ref><ref name="Kelleher1996">{{cite book |author=Joe Kelleher |title=Tony Harrison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNFaAAAAMAAJ&q=and+to+keep+new+Europe+open-eyed+they+let+the+marble+poet+preside |access-date=9 May 2013 |page=53 |year=1996 |publisher=Northcote House |isbn=978-0-7463-0789-2 |quote=The poem concludes with the proposal that 'to keep new Europe open-eyed/ they let the marble poet preside...'.}}</ref>
*[[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] aired a TV series named ''[[The Durrells|The Durrells in Corfu]]'' in April 2016 and ultimately lasting four seasons, concluding in May 2019. It was a biographical series detailing [[Gerald Durrell]]'s childhood on Corfu.

===In popular culture===
[[File:LefkimmiStreet.jpg|thumb|Street of [[Lefkimmi]] town]]

Corfu is one of the locations in the legend of Simon and Milo, where Simon falls in love temporarily. It is the setting of the 1998 song "Mediterranean Lady" by [[Prozzak]]. The island is alluded to several times in [[David Foster Wallace]]'s 1987 novel, ''[[The Broom of the System]]''. [[Drake (entertainer)|Drake]] mentions Corfu in a song. It is also mentioned in Brian Jacques' adventure novel, Voyage of Slaves.

==Tourism==
[[File:Canal d'amour at Sidari in Corfu.jpg|thumb|The beach at Canal D'Amour, [[Sidari]] on a windy day. At the entrance of the bay there is an opening in the rock at the right (centre left of picture) that continues to the other side, a natural tunnel. This sea channel gave the beach its name: ''Canal D'Amour'', French for ''channel of love''.]]

Corfiotes have a long history of hospitality to foreign residents and visitors, typified in the 20th century by [[Gerald Durrell]]'s childhood reminiscence ''My Family and Other Animals''. The north east coast has largely been developed by a few British holiday companies, with large expensive holiday villas.<ref>{{cite news |last=Foster |first=Nick |date=17 September 2009 |title=Overseas Buyers Fall for Corfu's Historic Charm |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/greathomesanddestinations/11iht-recorfu.html |access-date=30 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924223022/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/greathomesanddestinations/11iht-recorfu.html |archive-date=24 September 2020}}</ref> [[Package holiday]] resorts exist on the north, east and southwest coasts. Since 2021 there is an extra service added for visitors of the island called [https://www.corfuislandpass.com The Corfu Island Pass©]. This official discount pass of Corfu gives everyone visiting Corfu a discount on sightseeing tours, rentals and cruises.

At the other end of the island, the southern resort of [[Kavos]] also provides tourist facilities.

St George South to the west boasts the largest sandy beach on the island coupled with a selection of all-inclusive package hotels and traditional corfiot villas and flats. The Korission lake nature reserve also provides a stopover for European birds migrating south.

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). With the advent of the jet airliner bringing these groups relatively affordable 'package holidays', Corfu was one of the primary destinations for this new form of mass tourism.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tsartas |first1=Paris |title=Tourism Development in Greek Insular and Coastal Areas: Sociocultural Changes and Crucial Policy Issues |journal=Journal of Sustainable Tourism |date=September 2003 |volume=11 |issue=2–3 |pages=116–132 |doi=10.1080/09669580308667199 |bibcode=2003JSusT..11..116T |s2cid=41077364}}</ref> It is still popular with the ultra-wealthy however, and in the island's northeast the homeowners include members of the [[Rothschild family]] and Russian oligarchs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Foster |first1=Nick |date=2011-06-17 |title=Ionian rhapsody |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6c408b7a-94ef-11e0-a648-00144feab49a |url-access=subscription |website=Financial Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204225510/https://www.ft.com/content/6c408b7a-94ef-11e0-a648-00144feab49a |archive-date=2017-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/sunandsea/3330651/Corfu-is-all-about-fun-not-funds-Greek-Islands.html |title=Daily Telegraph, 3 November 2008|date=3 November 2008 }}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Ioannis Kapodistrias Airport in Corfu.jpg|thumb|[[Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport]]]]
[[File:Flying Dolphin in Corfu.jpg|thumb|The Flying Dolphin [[hydrofoil]] ferry near Corfu harbour. Vido island is in the foreground with the [[Albania]]n coastline in the background.]]

The island is linked by two highways: GR-24 in the northwest and GR-25 in the south.

*Greek National Road 24, Cen., NW, Corfu – Palaiokastritsa
*Greek National Road 25, Cen., S, SE, Corfu – Lefkimi

Corfu has ferry services both by traditional ferries to Gaios in the island of [[Paxoi]] and as far as [[Patras]] and both traditional ferries and advanced retractable [[airfoil]], [[hydrodynamic]]-flow, high-speed ferries called "Flying Dolphins" to [[Igoumenitsa]] and [[Sarandë]] in neighbouring [[Albania]]. The small port of Lefkimmi is also to be found at the southernmost tip of the island on Cape Kavos, offering a [[ferry boat|ferry]] service to the mainland.

The [[Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport]], named after [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]], a Corfiot and European diplomat, and the first governor of the independent Greek state, is located around three kilometres south of Kerkyra, just half a kilometre north of Pontikonisi. The approach and landing, in a northeasterly direction, afford passengers aerial views of ''Pontikonisi'' and Vlaheraina Monastery, also taking in the hills of ''Kanoni'', as the runway employed for landing lies a few hundred metres from these local landmarks. The airport offers domestic flights from [[Olympic Airlines]] (OA 600, 602 and 606), and [[Aegean Airlines]] (A3 402, 404 and 406). Seaplanes, Air Sea Lines, a Greek seaplane operator, offers scheduled flights from Corfu to Paxoi, Lefkada, Ithaki, Kefalonia, [[Ioannina]], Patras and [[Brindisi]] in Italy.

The buses to the main places on the island run about six times a day between the city and Glyfada, Sidari, Paleokastritsa, Roda and Acharavi, Lefkimmi, Lefkimmi and Piri. Other coaches drive up to twice a day to Athens and Thessaloniki. City buses run through the city to the Airport, Achilleion, Gouvia, Afra, Pelekas and some other places of interest.

The [[Diapontia Islands]] are accessible by boat with regular services from Corfu port and Agios Stefanos Avliotes and by ferry from Corfu city port.

==Economy==
[[File:KoumQuatLiqueur.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kumquat|Koum Quat]] [[liqueur]]s, produced in Corfu]]

Corfu is mostly planted with olive groves and vineyards and has been producing olive oil and wine since antiquity. The main wine grape varietals found in Corfu are the indigenous white ''Kakotrýgēs'' and red ''Petrokóritho'', the [[Cefalonia]]n white ''Robóla'', the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] ''Moscháto'' (white [[Muscat (grape and wine)|muscat]]), the [[Achaea]]n ''Mavrodáphnē'' and others.<ref name="Corfiote wine">{{cite web |url=http://www.greekwinemakers.com/czone/regions/kerk.shtml |title=At the time of his writing, Lambert-Gocs found 1800 hectares of vines dominated mainly by white Kakotrygis and red Petrokoritho (both cultivars having both red and white versions). Also cultivated on the island are the white Petrokoritho, Moschato Aspro, Robola and Kozanitis and the red Kakotrygis and Mavrodafni |publisher=Greekwinemakers.com |access-date=29 June 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320092625/http://www.greekwinemakers.com/czone/regions/kerk.shtml |archive-date=20 March 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Modern times have seen the introduction of specialist cultivation supported by the mild climate, like the [[kumquat]] and [[bergamot orange]]s, which are extensively used in making [[spoon sweets]] and [[liqueur]]s. Corfu also produces local animal products, such as Corfiote ''graviéra'' (a variant of [[Gruyère (cheese)|gruyere]]) and "''Corfu''" cheese (a variant of [[Grana (cheese)|Grana]]); "Corfu butter" (''Boútyro Kerkýras''), an intensely flavored cooking and baking butter made of [[ewe's milk]]; and the ''noúmboulo'' [[salami]] made of pork and lard and flavored with orange peel, oregano, thyme and other aromatic herbs, which are also burned for smoking.

Local culinary specialties include ''[[sofrito]]'' (a [[veal]] rump roast of [[Venice|Venetian]] origin), ''pastitsáda'' ([[bucatini]] pasta served with diced veal cooked in a tomato sauce), ''bourdétto'' ([[cod]] cooked in a [[Capsicum|pepper]]y sauce), ''mándoles'' (caramelized [[almonds]]), ''pastéli'' ([[honey]] bars made with [[sesame]], [[almond]]s or [[pistachio]]s), ''mandoláto'' (a "pastéli" made of crushed almonds, sugar, honey and [[vanilla]]), and ''tzitzibíra'', the local [[ginger beer]], a remnant of the British era. There are three breweries in Corfu and one bed layers factory.

The island has again become an important [[Port#Port of call|port of call]] and has a considerable trade in olive oil.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |last1=Gardner |first1=Ernest Arthur |author-link1=Ernest Arthur Gardner |last2=Caspari |first2=Maximillian Otto Bismark |wstitle=Corfu |volume=7 |pages=145–146 |inline=1 }}</ref> In earlier times there was a great export of [[Greek citron|citron]], which was cultivated here, including for ritual use in the Jewish community during the [[Sukkot]] holiday.

==International relations==
===Twin towns – sister cities===
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Greece}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Meißen]], Germany (1996)<ref name=GT>{{cite web |url=http://www.kedke.gr/uploads/twinnedcities.pdf |title=Twinnings |access-date=25 August 2013 |work=Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115172503/http://www.kedke.gr/uploads/twinnedcities.pdf |archive-date=15 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Troisdorf]], Germany (1996)<ref name=GT/>
{{div col end}}

===Partner cities===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Novi Sad]], Serbia (2017)<ref>{{cite web|title=Нови Сад и Крф побратими и пријатељи|url=https://www.dnevnik.rs/politika/novi-sad-i-krf-pobratimi-i-prijateli-21-05-2017publisher=dnevnik.rs|date=21 May 2017|access-date=5 November 2023|language=Serbian}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==Notable people==
===Ancient and medieval===
*[[Ptolichus]] (5th century BCE), [[ancient Greek]] sculptor
*[[Peithias]] (5th century BCE), leader during the Peleponnesian War
*[[Philiscus of Corcyra|Philiscus]] ({{circa}} 3rd century BCE), tragic poet, born in Corfu
*[[Philomena]] (291–304 CE), [[Virgin (title)#Virgin martyrs|virgin martyr]] and saint
*[[Arsenius of Corfu|Arsenius]] ({{died in|959}}), bishop and saint

===Modern===
[[File:Kapodistrias2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Count Ioannis Kapodistrias]] (1776–1831), first head of state, governor of independent Greece, founder of the modern Greek state, and distinguished European diplomat]]
[[File:25.Jun.2015_Prince_Philip_in_Frankfurt.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], consort of [[Elizabeth II]] until his death in 2021]]
{{div col}}
*[[Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark]], born in Corfu
*[[Panos Aravantinos]], artist, born in Corfu
*[[Marie Aspioti]], magazine publisher and cultural figure who influenced the literary and cultural life of post-war Corfu
*[[Felice Beato]], 19th-century photographer, born in Corfu
*[[Giacomo Casanova]], lived on the island as an officer of the Venetian army
*[[Tilemachos Chytiris]], Greek politician, Member of the Hellenic Parliament
*[[Albert Cohen (novelist)|Albert Cohen]], Swiss-French author, born in Corfu
*[[Spiro Çomora]], Albanian playwright, born in Corfu
*[[Haim Corfu]], Israeli politician, was born in Jerusalem, his family name testifying to his family's origin
*[[Nikos Dendias]], Greek lawyer and politician, has been [[Member of the Hellenic Parliament]] and has served as [[Minister for National Defence (Greece)|Minister for National Defence]] and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Greece)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Maria Desylla-Kapodistria]], relative of Ioannis Kapodistrias, mayor of Corfu and first female mayor of Greece<ref name="web.archive.org"/>
*[[Mathew Devaris]], scholar, born in Corfu
*[[Tommaso Diplovataccio]], Greco-Italian jurist, publisher and politician, born in Corfu
*[[Eleni Doika]], Greek Olympic gymnast, born in Corfu
*[[Viktor Dousmanis]], Hellenic Army officer, born in Corfu
*[[Panagiotis Doxaras]], painter, pioneer of the [[Heptanese School (painting)|Heptanese School]] of painting, worked and died in Corfu
*[[Gerald Durrell]], British naturalist and younger brother of Lawrence Durrell, lived in Corfu
*[[Lawrence Durrell]], British writer and older brother of Gerald Durrell, lived in Corfu
*[[Elisabeth of Bavaria]] ("Sissi"), Empress of Austria, built Achilleion as summer palace
*[[Thomas Flanginis]], wealthy Greek lawyer and merchant in Venice, who founded the [[Flanginian School]], a Greek college where many teachers were trained
*[[Mario Frangoulis]], Greek vocalist, famous for his refined tenor vocals
*[[Kostas Georgakis]], student, martyr of the resistance against the [[Greek military junta of 1967–1974]], born in Corfu
*[[Angela Gerekou]], actress, singer and politician, born in Corfu, wife of [[Tolis Voskopoulos]]
*[[Angelos Giallinas]], Greek landscape painter, known primarily for his watercolors
*[[Spyridon Gianniotis]], Olympic silver medalist in swimming, raised in Corfu with father from Corfu
*[[Gaetano Giuffrè]], composer and conductor, born in Corfu
*[[Spyros Gogolos]], footballer, born in Corfu
*[[Angelos Grammenos]], Greek actor, television director and singer
*[[Ian Hamilton (British Army officer)|Ian Hamilton]], British Army officer, led the 1915 [[Gallipoli campaign|Gallipoli Landings]], born in Corfu
*[[Markos Antonios Katsaitis]] (1717–1787), Greek scholar, geographer and lawyer born in Corfu<ref name="Bracewell, Wendy 2009 49-50">{{cite book |author=Bracewell, Wendy |title=Orientations: an anthology of East European travel writing, c. 1550-2000 |publisher=Central European University Press |year=2009 |pages=49–50 |isbn=978-963-9776-10-4 |quote=A Venetian Greek in the Ottoman Balkans Marco Antonio Cazzaiti, 1 742 Marco Antonio Cazzaiti (Markos Antonios Katsaites, 1717–1787) was a nobleman from Venetian Corfu, a lawyer and geographer...Greek in origin and consciousness}}</ref>
*[[Augustinos Kapodistrias]], younger brother of Ioannis Kapodistrias, soldier and politician, born in Corfu<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sansimera.gr/archive/biographies/show.php?id=233&name=Avgoustinos_Kapodistrias |title=Avgoustinos Kapodistrias |publisher=Sansimera.gr |access-date=29 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402222130/http://www.sansimera.gr/archive/biographies/show.php?id=233&name=Avgoustinos_Kapodistrias |archive-date=2 April 2009}}</ref>
*[[Ioannis Kapodistrias]], first Governor of Greece, born in Corfu
*[[Giorgos Katsaros]], noted Greek musician and songwriter
*[[Nikos Kourkoulos]], Greek theatrical and film actor
*[[Spyridon Lambros]], history professor and former [[Prime Minister of Greece]], born in Corfu
*[[Petros Lantzas]], Greek rebel, spy and privateer
*[[Vicky Leandros]], international pop star, born in Corfu
*[[Andreas Mandelis]], expert on [[photonics]], member of the [[Canadian Academy of Engineering]], awarded the 2014 [[Killam Prize]]
*[[Nikolaos Mantzaros]], Greek composer, born in Corfu
*[[Aristedes Metallinos]], sculptor
*[[George Metallinos]], Greek Orthodox theologian, priest ([[protoiereus|protopresbyter]]), historian, author and professor
*[[Margarita Miniati]] (1821–1897), Greek scholar and writer, born in Corfu
*[[Andreas Mustoxydis|Andreas Moustoxydis]], historian and philologist, born in Corfu
*[[Rena Pagrati]], Greek film, television and theatre actress
*[[Vangelis Petsalis]], Greek classical musician and composer, born in Corfu
*[[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] (1921–2021), born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, in Corfu
*[[Spiros Pizanis]], famous Greek painter
*{{ill|Iakovos Polylas|fr|Iákovos Polylás}}, first publisher of [[Dionysios Solomos]], born in Corfu
*[[Henry Ponsonby]] (1825–1895), [[Private Secretary to the Sovereign|private secretary]] to [[Queen Victoria]]
*[[Alfredo Ragona]] (born 1922), Greek footballer
*[[Georgios Rallis]] (1918–2006), prime minister, son of Ioannis Rallis and Zaira, daughter of George Theotoki
*[[Alexander Rossi (artist)|Alexander Rossi]], artist, born in Corfu
*[[Sakis Rouvas]], Greek singer and athlete, born in Corfu
*[[Spyridon Samaras]], Greek composer, born in Corfu
*[[Georgios Samartzis]], Greek painter and musician, associated with the Heptanese School of painting
*[[Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg]], Austrian general and aristocrat, successfully defended the island against the Ottoman Turks during the siege of 1716 as leader of the Venetian forces in Corfu
*[[Edith Somerville|Edith Œnone Somerville]] (1858-1949), Irish novelist, born in Corfu
*[[Nikolaos Sophianos]], was a Greek humanist and cartographer, born in Corfu
*[[Carl Ludwig Sprenger]], German botanist, lived in Corfu
*[[Theodore Stephanides]], Greek poet, author, doctor and naturalist, born in Corfu
*[[Anthony Stevens (Jungian analyst)|Anthony Stevens]], Jungian analyst, lived in Corfu
*[[Xenophon Stratigos]], Greek military officer
*[[Georgios Theotokis]], former Prime Minister of Greece, born in Corfu
*[[Ioannis Theotokis]], Greek politician, born in Corfu
*[[Nikephoros Theotokis]] (1732–1800), Greek educator and Russian archbishop, born in Corfu
*[[Nikolaos Ventouras]], Greek artist and engraver
*[[Rena Vlahopoulou]], Greek actress and singer, born in Corfu
*[[Stylianos Vlasopoulos]], scion of the aristocratic Vlassopoulos dynasty of Corfu
*[[Eugenios Voulgaris]], Greek scholar, born in Corfu
*[[Sotirios Voulgaris]] (1857–1932), silversmith and businessman, founder of the Bulgari jewellery store that later became the luxury fashion company [[Bulgari]]
*[[Petros Vrailas Armenis]], Greek philosopher, politician, diplomat and former owner of the predecessor of the [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]] palace, born in Corfu
*[[Wilhelm II of Germany]], bought Achilleion after Sissi's death
*[[Spyridon Xyndas]] (1812–1896), Greek composer and musician, born in Corfu
{{div col end}}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Cape Fonias, Corfu 3.JPG|Cape Drastis at the northwest tip of Corfu island
File:Corfu Chalikiopoulou Lagoon R01.jpg|Chalikiopoulou Lagoon (or Lake Chalikiopoulou), south of Corfu town
File:Venetian Shipyard in Gouvia, Corfu.jpg|[[Venetian arsenal, Gouvia]]
File:Corfu Annunziata R02.jpg|Old tower, Corfu town
File:Corfu panorama bgiu.jpg|Panorama of the Old Town of Corfu
File:Corfu venetian quarter overview bgiu.jpg|Venetian quarter, Corfu town
File:Narrow street corfu.jpg|''Odós Ipeirou'' in Corfu old town
File:Corfu Evgeniou Voulgareos R01.jpg|Historic building in ''Evgeniou Voulgareos'' street
File:St. George's Church.jpg|View of St. George's Temple at the [[Old Fortress, Corfu|Old Fortress]]
File:Corfu Mon Repos R01.jpg|[[Mon Repos, Corfu|Mon Repos]]
File:Corfu Achilleion R11.jpg|Gardens of [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]]
File:Achilleion Terrace Corfu(1).jpg|Statues at the [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]] terrace
File:Villa Rossa in Corfu.jpg|''Villa Rossa'', landmark of Corfu city
File:Corfu Pelekas R02.jpg|[[Pelekas]] village
File:Kaiser's Bridge in Corfu ca. 1918.jpg|Kaiser's Bridge in Corfu c. 1918
File:Krf i Starata tvrdina.jpg|Workers on Corfu. The image shows the Old Fortress. First World War
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Aspioti-ELKA]]
*[[Cuisine of the Ionian islands]]
*[[Heptanese School (painting)]]
*[[Hercules (vehicles)]]
*[[Korčula]]
*[[Music of the Heptanese]]
*[[Temple of Hera, Mon Repos]]

== Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General and cited sources ==
*{{Cite journal |last1=Barnett |first1=Charles |date=2016 |title=Promišljanja o identitetu, etnicitetu i "helenizaciji" predrimske Liburnije |trans-title=Rethinking Identity, Ethnicity, and "Hellenization" in pre-Roman Liburnia |journal=Miscellanea Hadriatica et Mediterranea |volume=3 |pages=63–98 |language=hr, en |doi=10.15291/misc.1367 |doi-access=free}}
*{{cite book |last1=Cruickshank |first1=Dan |year=2000 |title=Architecture: 150 Masterpieces of Western Architecture |url=https://archive.org/details/architecture00danc |url-access=registration |publication-place=New York, NY |publisher=[[Watson-Guptill Publications]] |isbn=978-0-8230-0289-4}}
*{{cite book |last1=Darling |first1=Janina K. |title=Architecture of Greece |year=2004 |series=Reference Guides to National Architecture |publication-place=Westport, CT |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |doi=10.5040/9798400614071 |isbn=978-0-313-32152-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LuVPAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book |last1=Gates |first1=Charles |year=2003 |title=Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |publication-place=New York, NY |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-01895-1}}
*{{cite book |last1=Houby-Nielsen |first1=Sanne |author-link1=Sanne Houby-Nielsen |year=2013 |orig-year=2009 |chapter=Attica: A View from the Sea |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6ZONBz1DKkC&pg=PA189 |editor-last1=Raaflaub |editor-first1=Kurt A. |editor-link1=Kurt Raaflaub |editor-last2=van Wees |editor-first2=Hans |title=A Companion to Archaic Greece |series=Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World |edition=paperback |publication-place=Malden, MA & Oxford, UK |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |pages=182–211 |isbn=978-1-118-45138-0}}
*{{cite book |last1=Leontsini |first1=Maria |year=2014 |chapter=The Ionian Islands During the Byzantine Period: An Overview of their History and Monuments |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdIxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |editor1-last=Hirst |editor1-first=Anthony |editor2-last=Sammon |editor2-first=Patrick |title=The Ionian Islands: Aspects of their History and Culture |publisher=[[Cambridge Scholars Publishing]] |pages=26–63 |isbn=978-1-4438-6278-3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Šašel Kos |first1=Marjeta |year=2005 |title=Appian and Illyricum |publisher=[[Narodni muzej Slovenije]] |isbn=978-961-6169-36-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opBpAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{Tabula Imperii Byzantini|volume=3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Stamatopoulos |first1=Nondas |year=1993 |orig-year=1st ed. published in 1971 |title=Old Corfu: History and Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6m0-AQAAIAAJ |edition=3rd, rev. and enl. |publication-place=Corfu |publisher=N. Stamatopoulos |isbn=978-960-8403-00-0}}
*{{cite book |last1=Wilkes |first1=John |author-link=John Wilkes (archaeologist) |year=1996 |orig-year=1992 |title=The Illyrians |series=The Peoples of Europe |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-0-631-19807-9 |oclc=36173200}}

==Further reading==
*{{Citation |publisher=J. Murray |location=London |title=A Hand-book for Travellers in the Ionian Islands, Greece, Turkey, Asia Minor, and Constantinople |date=1840 |oclc=397597 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/ahandbookfortra01murrgoog#page/n69/mode/2up |chapter=Corfu |ol=6952607M}}
*{{Citation |publisher=John Murray |date=1900 |location=London |title=Handbook for Travellers in Greece |edition=7th |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/handbookfortra00lond#page/n133/mode/2up |chapter=Corfu |ol=24368063M}}
*{{Citation |publisher=Karl Baedeker |location=Leipzig |title=Greece |date=1909 |edition=4th |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/greecehandbookfo00karl#page/n425/mode/2up |chapter=Corfu |ol=24347510M}}
*Siebert, Diana: ''Aller Herren Außenposten. Korfu von 1797 bis 1944''. Köln, 2016 {{ISBN|978-3-00-052502-5}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Corfu|voy=Corfu}}
*[http://www.corfu.gr/ Municipality of Corfu] (official site)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928084606/http://www.embassyscg.gr/Krf/KrfEng.htm Serbs in Corfu and Vido: Historical Website]
*[https://www.corfubutterflyconservation.org/ Corfu Butterfly Conservation]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20230619222646/https://corfugo.com/ Corfugo Website]
*[https://www.corfuislandpass.com Corfu island pass] (official site)

{{Landmarks of Corfu}}
{{Kallikratis-Ionian Islands}}
{{Ionian Islands}}
{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Corfu| ]]
[[Category:Corfu (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Corinthian colonies]]
[[Category:Euboean colonies]]
[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
[[Category:Jewish communities in Italy]]
[[Category:Locations in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece]]
[[Category:Populated places in Corfu (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Provinces of Greece]]
[[Category:Septinsular Republic]]
[[Category:Territories of the Republic of Venice]]