Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ninth-century wife of Emperor Theophilos. The building dates from 1577, and the
plain exterior conceals a splendid iconostasis, as well as some fine icons, including a
sixteenth-century image of
Saint George Slaying the Dragon.
The New Town
There are a couple of noteworthy sights in the New Town that surrounds the Historic
Centre. This area also encompasses much of Corfu Town's commercial heart, centred
around busy
Platía Saróko
.
Archeological Museum
Bráïla 1 • Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm • €3 •
T
26610 30680
Corfu Town's
Archeological Museum
, just round the coast from the southern end of the
Spianádha, is the best in the archipelago. The most impressive exhibit is a massive (17m)
Gorgon pediment excavated from the Doric temple of Artemis at Paleópolis, just south of
Corfu Town; this dominates an entire room, the Gorgon flanked by panthers and mythical
battle scenes. The museum also has fragments of Neolithic weapons and cookware, and
coins and pots from the period when the island was a colony of ancient Corinth.
11
The British cemetery
Cnr of Zafiropoúlou and Kolokotróni • Open access
Just south of Platía Saróko, the well-maintained
British cemetery
features some
elaborate civic and military memorials. It's a quiet green space away from the madness
of Saróko and, in spring and early summer, comes alive with dozens of species of
orchids and other exotic blooms.
The outskirts
Each of the sights on the sprawling outskirts of the city can easily be seen in a morning
or afternoon, and you could conceivably cover several in one day.
Mon Repos and around
Estate daily 8am-7.30pm • Free •
T
26610 41369
About1.5km around the bay from the Rotunda and Archeological Museum, tucked
behind Mon Repos beach, the area centred on the
Mon Repos
estate contains the most
accessible archeological remains on the island, collectively known as
Paleópolis
. Within
the estate, thick woodland conceals two
Doric temples
, dedicated to Hera and Poseidon.
The Neoclassical
Mon Repos
villa
, built by British High Commissioner Frederic Adam
THE IONIAN SCHOOL OF PAINTING
The Ionian islands have a strong tradition of excellence in the fine arts, particularly
iconography. Having been occupied by the Venetians and later the British, the islands spent
centuries more in touch with developments in western Europe than in the Ottoman empire.
Until the late seventeenth century, religious art in the Ionians, as elsewhere, was dominated
by the stylistic purity and dignified austerity of the Cretan School. The founder of the
Ionian
School of painting
is considered to be
Panayiotis Dhoxaras
, who was born in the
Peloponnese in 1662 but, after studying in Venice and Rome, moved to Zákynthos and later
lived and worked in Lefkádha and Corfu until his death in 1729. From his travels Dhoxaras
absorbed the spirit of Italian Renaissance art, and brought a greater degree of naturalism into
iconography by showing his subjects, usually saints, in more human poses amid everyday
surroundings. He is also credited with introducing the technique of
oil painting
into Greece
in place of the older method of mixing pigments with egg yolk.
Dhoxaras's work was carried on by his son,
Nikolaos
(1710-1775), and over the next two
centuries the tradition flourished through the skilled brushwork of a host of talented artists, such
as Corfiot
Yioryios Khrysoloras
(1680-1762), Zakynthian
Nikolaos Kandounis
(1768-1834)
and three generations of the Proselandis family, starting with
Pavlos Proselandis
(1784-1837).
