2009 06 01 Corfu, Greece

The island of Corfu lies in the Ionian Sea, midway between Greece and Italy. The island has a long and colorful history.













Colonized by the city-state of Corinth, Corfu has been ruled by the Romans, the Venetians, the French and the English. The town boasts fortresses bearing the insignia of the Venetial Republic, an esplanade lavishly planted by the French during the Napoleonic Wars and an English cricket pitch. The island also boasts some of the finest coastal scenery in the entire Mediterranean.


















Corfu's position was an ideal highway between Greece and the west and prosperity came quickly to the region. Trade rivalry with Corinth was so intense that the first recorded naval battle in Greek history occured around 664 B.C. The island was a good friend to the Roman Empire, and Octavian made it a naval station for his operations against Marc Anthony Cleopatra. Corfu has had a stormy history marked by constant changes of ownership and serious threats from pirates. In 1386 islanders asked for protection from the Venetian Republic which lasted until the republic was abolished in 1797. Intermittent attacks by the Turkish Navy were repulsed and Corfu served as a refuge for Greek artists and scholars fleeing from Turkish advances elsewhere. These educated exiles founded the first Academy in modern Greece. During the Napoleonic Wars the Ionian Islands were under French control. Several building projects substantially beautified the capital. After the defeat of the French, Great Britain established a protectorate over the islands. Britain withdrew in 1864 and the Ionians joined the Kingdom of Greece.

While in Corfu we toured the Monastery of the Virgin Mary founded in 1288. The chapel houses a collection of religious paintings and icons. Our tour also took us to Kinopastes Village in the mountains, and a stroll through the Old Town for a peek at its historical sites, including the Venetian fortress, the French Esplanade and the English cricket pitch.