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History
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| Hospital - Health Center |
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| Tourist Information |
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| Bank - Exchange |
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| Taxi |
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| Post Office |
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| Telephone or Exchange |
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| Restaurant |
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| Shopping |
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| Ice |
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| Fuel Harbour |
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| Fuel by Lorry |
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Introduction:
From antiquity on, Corfu has played an important role
in the history of the area, probably because it was fertile and thus
capable of sustaining a fairly large population. According to Homer,
the Phaeacians had a navy and were such accomplished sailors that they
did not need rudders to guide their craft. In remembrance of this ability,
Corfu's emblem today depicts a rudderless ship. For about a millenium
(775 B.C. till 337 B.C.), Corfu was a colony first of Euboea and then
of Corinth, an ally of the Athenians and of the Macedonians, and a possession
of Sparta, Syracuse, and the Illyrians who surrendered it to Roman domination.
By conquering Corfu, the Romans began their conquest of Greece and threw
the island into deep decline. From 395 B.C. on Corfu was part of the
East Roman empire and during the succeeding centuries suffered barbarians
onslaughts, raids, lootings, and new occupations.
Corfu's role increased in importance from the Middle Ages on because
of its focal position, controlling the entrance to the Adriatic and
became very important during Venetian rule. It was the seat of the Provedittore
Generale del mar of the Serenissima, that is the Governor General of
the Most Serene Republic of Venice in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Venetians reinforced the feudal system of government, but did permit
the local aristocracy a degree of self-government. They upheld the Catholic
church but did protect the Orthodox church from the excesses and persecution
of the inquisition, and permitted Orthodox rites and worship. After
the overthrow of the Venetian Empire by Napoleon, Corfu came under French
rule; after his downfall, it became the capital of the British Protectorate
of the Ionian Islands until 1864 when all the islands were united with
Greece.
All the conquerors passing through Corfu in recent centuries left some
traces on the island's culture. The splendid fortresses were fortified
by significant works undertaken by the most celebrated engineers of
Venice, Savorgnan, Martinengo, and others, and withstood several sieges
by the Turks; Corfu and Vienna were the two points where Turkish expansion
into Europe was halted. The Venetians bequeathed the architecture in
the old town, resembling that of Italy, the two monumental fortresses
in the city and the immense Esplanade which served as a firing ground
for the cannons of the fortress, and which is still the town's social
and political center. The French left the arcaded buildings on the Esplanade,
a reminder of the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, where the locals stroll. The
British bequeathed cricket (which is still played on the Esplanade),
the fish shops which sell takeout fried fish, the Reading Society with
all the characteristics of a British club, and the palace of the British
Commissioner which overlooks the northern side of the Esplanade.
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