Corfu, Greece (4/30/2025)

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Kérkyra/Corfu is our third Greek island, the largest island in the Ionian Sea.

Corfu's Old Town is widely considered one of the 'best-preserved' medieval towns in Europe.

Our morning included shore excursion took us up on
Mount Kanoni that took its name from the cannon
that was installed by the French in 1798
after the fall of the Republic of Venice

Mount Kanoni view of the Ionian Sea to the left and Halikiopoulou Lagoon to the right, as well as ...

Holy Monastery of Panagia Vlacherna (17C) that was a nunnery

On the way back to the city of Corfu, we passed Mon Repos Estate where Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born. He married Princess Elizabeth of England in 1946 and took the title of Duke of Edinburgh. Elizabeth became Queen in 1952.

The clear waters of Garitsa Bay with mullet perhaps

The Old Fortress (15C CE when the Venetians replaced
the 12C Byzantine fortifications)

The Venetians dug a moat to separate the Old Fortress
from the mainland

Statue (1718, by Antonio Corradini) of
Matthias von der Schulenburg, the last
great general of the Republic of Venice

Palace of St Michael and St George (1819-1824,
by George Whitmore in Neoclassical style)
is now the Corfu Museum of Asian Art

Spianada Square (16C) is the largest square
in Greece and the Balkans

Spianada Square Cistern once supplied fresh water to the city

Liston Arcade (1807-1814 during French occupation)
is a located on a pedestrian street of the same name

French influence is also seen in the balconies

Shards of terra cotta are seen on the streets after the
smashing of Botides/clay pots filled with water on
Holy Saturday as part of Easter celebrations;
most of the pots are thrown from the balconies

Narrow streets have multiple clothes lines
stretched from building to building

Catholic Cathedral of St James and
St Christopher (early 20C after
being bombed in 1944)

Catholic Cathedral of St James and
St Christopher interior

Old Town Hall (1663-1693) started as a meeting place
for Venetian noblemen

In 1720 the building became the first Greek
opera house, then in 1903 the Town Hall

Vrachlioti Square, the location for the Easter
Mastela tradition where a barrel is filled with
water and passers-by drop in coins; after
the tossing of Botides, church bells announce
the First Resurrection and the start of a race
to reach the barrel, dive in, and retrieve the coins

Shop window

Butcher shop

Paving stones in black and white; the
story is that the black stones are a gift of
gratitude from the city of Naples after
the people of Corfu raised money to
assist the victims of the 1906
eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Greek Orthodox Church of St Spyridon
(1589-1590) holds the relics of St Spyridon
(no photos allowed), and Belltower, the
tallest in the Ionian islands

Candles are lit outside the church

Balconies with laundry and flower pots

Ice cream

Bakery

North Gate (15C)

Ginger kumquat soda

Corfu Beer (much better than Mamos)

One order of grilled sardines

New Fortress (1576-1645)

Holy Church of Kyra Phaneromeni/Virgin Mary
of the Foreigners (1869, for refugees from Epirus, Greece
who were persecuted by the Turks)

Iroon Square with a statue of
Greek Prime Minister Georgiou Theotoki

Back on Viking Saturn, we finished another
1000-piece jigsaw puzzle

Departing from Corfu, we can see the Old Fortress on
the left, and the New Fortress on the right

Sunset over the Ionian Sea