Kérkira - Corfu Town

Anchored in Dassia bay near to the hotel where our friends, Nici and Neil, are staying we were perfectly positioned to enjoy his birthday celebrations taking place over the next few days. We'd had a great sail up from Párga on 1 August with the usual profile of no wind initially and then 2 reefs in the main, a rolled genoa plus and staysail for a brisk beat for the last few hours. Neither Nicky nor I had visited Corfu before and we both wanted to visit Kérkira (Corfu Town) to see its mixed legacy from Venetian, French and British rule as well as enjoying all of the birthday fun. Fortunately from Dassia we were easily able to get a bus so that we could visit the town centre on 2 August .

The Venetians ruled Corfu, along with the other 6 Ionian islands (collectively the Heptanesoi) from the 14^th century until the French occupation, which began in 1797. Then, during the Napoleonic wars, the British imposed a military “protectorate” over the island, before ceding Corfu to Greece in 1864. Consequently, Kérkira has a very elegant (slightly faded in places) mixture of Venetian, French and Georgian architecture. Many Venetian buildings are still standing but it was during the French rule (1797-1814) that the current street plan was established. French architects also built the arcaded buildings which overlook the green Spianádha esplanade on the eastern side of the town.

Now filled with cafés, this area is very much alive with activity and we enjoyed a beer in the shade looking out over the cricket pitch on the northern part of the Spianádha esplanade. One legacy from the British rule (1814-1864) is that cricket still enthusiastically played on Corfu.

We walked around city walls enjoying the very pleasant views. Looking east, the skyline is dominated by the Old Fortress built on the twin peaks; we had to take a closer look.

The Old Fortress’ history dates back to mid-6^th century AD when Corfu was attacked by barbarians. As a result, the island’s inhabitants started to move to the twin peaks peninsula because it was more easily fortified. The Byzantines, and later the Angevins (1297-1386), walled the peninsula and built towers on both of its peaks. At the same time the settlement west of the peninsula started to grow to form the current town. What we see of the fort today is largely due to the defensive works carried out during the Venetian rule (1386-1797) in order to protect this strategic and important commercial location from Ottoman attacks with new heavy artillery. The Turks, who attempted to conquer the island in 1571, 1573 and 1716, mounted a particularly destructive siege in 1537 which resulted in further modifications to the fort including the two pentagonal bastions. During the period of British rule (1814-1864) building work inside the walls included Georgian style barrack blocks and a large hospital as well as the Church of St George, which looks like a Greek temple. In 1864, when Corfu was united with the rest of Greece, the Old Fortress, along with the other defensive sites in the city, were put out of commission. Sadly bombing during World War II destroyed most of the fortress’ Venetian buildings such as the governor’s palace and the Pasqualigo barracks.

There is a good selection of artillery and cannon on display and tucked away in one of the buildings are some rare Byzantine artworks and mosaics. However, for us the highlight was the great panoramic view of Kérkira from the very top of the Old Fortress.

Back in the narrow streets of the town we found a fabulous baklava and sweet pastry shop. The temptation was too much and so we bought a selection to share the following day when we would be sailing with Neil and his family.