- Modern Greek:
- Kérkyra
- Ancient (Latin):
- Corcyra
Corfu
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Where is Corfu located?
Corfu, also called Kérkyra, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, situated off the coast of Epirus, near southern Albania. It is part of the Ionian Islands region of western Greece. The island is about 36 miles (58 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide, with an area of 229 square miles (593 square km). Corfu is known for its fertile landscape, attractive countryside, and mountainous terrain in the north.
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What kind of island is Corfu?
Corfu, also known as Kérkyra, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, situated off the coast of Epirus. It is characterized by a limestone structure, with a mountainous terrain in the north and lowlands in the south. Corfu is known for its fertile land and attractive countryside, where olive trees are abundant, alongside fruits like figs, oranges, lemons, and grapes. The island exports olive oil, fruit, grain, and wine and produces soap and textiles.
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What is the climate like on Corfu?
Corfu has a Mediterranean climate characterized by regional and local variations due to Greece's physical diversity. During winter, Corfu experiences mild temperatures, with January averaging in the low 50s F (10 °C). The island receives abundant precipitation, with an average annual rainfall of about 52 inches (1,320 mm). Summers are hot and dry, with average July sea-level temperatures approaching 80 °F (27 °C).
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What is Corfu known for in history or mythology?
Corfu, also known as Kérkyra, is an island in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Epirus in western Greece. The island is known in legend as Scheria, home to the Phaeacians in Homeric epic.
Corfu's history includes being a Corinthian colony around 734 BCE and later a Roman naval station. Its favorable position between Greece and Italy led to occupations by various powers, including the Venetians, French, and British, before being ceded to Greece in 1864. The Old Town of Corfu was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007.
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How does Corfu's geography affect its culture?
Corfu's geography has significantly shaped its culture. The island, located off the coast of Epirus, Greece, features a varied landscape, with mountains in the north and lowlands in the south. Its fertile land and abundant water support the cultivation of olives, fruits, grapes, and corn. This has resulted in a culture deeply rooted in agriculture, with exports of olive oil, fruit, grain, and wine. Corfu's strategic position has made it a crossroads of civilizations, influencing its culture through Venetian, French, and British rule, each leaving architectural and cultural marks.
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What are some important historical sites or attractions on Corfu?
Corfu, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, boasts a rich history and stunning landscapes. Its chief city, also called Corfu (Kérkyra), features an Old Town that is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a labyrinth of hilly, narrow streets. The city's twin-peaked old citadel, with fortifications built by the Venetians in 1550, was once an islet. The Royal Palace, constructed in 1816, once served as the residence of British governors and is now a museum. The island is known for its attractive countryside with olive trees, and fertile land.
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Corfu, island in the Ionian Sea (Modern Greek: Iónio Pélagos), with adjacent small islands making up the dímos (municipality) and pereferiakí enótita (regional unit) of Kérkyra (also called Corfu), Ionian Islands (Iónia Nisiá) periféreia (region), western Greece. Lying just off the coast of Epirus (Ípeiros), it is about 36 miles (58 km) long, while its greatest breadth is about 17 miles (27 km) and its area 229 square miles (593 square km). Of limestone structure, the island is mountainous in the north and low in the south. Its northeastern protrusion, close to the Albanian coast, trends east-west and reaches a peak in Pantokrator Mountain (2,972 feet [906 metres]); the other range, in the island’s centre, is lower.
The island is well watered, fertile, and reputed to have the most attractive countryside of the Greek islands. Olive trees predominate, but figs, oranges, lemons, grapes, and corn (maize) are also cultivated. Exports include olive oil, fruit, grain, and wine; Corfu’s manufactures include soap and textiles.
Modern Corfu (Kérkyra), the chief city, port, and capital of the dímos, lies on a peninsula on the island’s east coast. The twin-peaked old citadel, with fortifications built by the Venetians (1550), was once an islet. The city’s Old Town, with its labyrinth of hilly narrow streets, is a seat of a Greek metropolitan and a Roman Catholic bishop.
The name Corfu is an Italian corruption of the Greek koryphai (“crests”) and is often a more familiar moniker to visitors than the Modern Greek name. According to legend, the island was Scheria, home of the Phaeacians in Homeric epic. A Corinthian colony established about 734 bce supplanted a settlement of Eretrians from Euboea. Proudly independent and even hostile to its mother city of Corinth, the new colony was reduced (c. 600 bce) by the Corinthian tyrant Periander, but later it regained independence and devoted itself to commerce. Corfu took no active part in the Persian invasion (480 bce) of Greece, but in 435 it sought the assistance of Athens in a quarrel with Corinth, a request that became a primary cause of the Peloponnesian War. Corfu quit the war in 410, but a new alliance with Athens (375) resulted in hostilities with Sparta.
After 303 the island changed hands several times for a quarter century. Seized in 229 bce by the Illyrians, it was delivered by the Romans, who retained it as a naval station and made it a free state. In 31 bce Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) used it as a base against Mark Antony, but his foundation of Nicopolis Actia on the site of his victory caused Corfu to lose a great deal of its prestige.
The island’s favourable position between Greece and Italy attracted powers from east and west. In succession it fell to Goths, Lombards, Saracens, and Normans and was fought over by the kings of Sicily and the Italian city-states of Genoa and Venice. In 1204 the island was annexed to the Greek despotate of Epirus but passed back to King Manfred of Sicily (1259) and then (1267) to the Angevins of Naples. Venetian sovereignty was restored in 1401. Upon the dismemberment of the Venetian republic (1797), Corfu was assigned to France, but the French garrison soon was expelled by a Russo-Turkish fleet. Incorporated into the Napoleonic empire (1807), the island became a British protectorate after the emperor’s final defeat (1815). British administration displeased the inhabitants, however, and in 1864 Corfu was ceded, with the other Ionian Islands (Iónia Nisiá), to Greece.
In 1923 Italian forces bombarded and held Corfu briefly, following the murder of an Italian boundary delegation. In World War II the city was again bombed by the Italians and occupied in succession (1941–44) by Italians and Germans. Many of its buildings and other landmarks were destroyed in the fighting of 1943, but the Royal Palace (1816), a former residence of British governors and now a museum, escaped the destruction. The island was restored to Greece in 1944.
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The island escaped the great earthquake of 1953, which destroyed large parts of the southern Ionian Islands, and became very popular with tourists. In 2007 the Old Town of the city of Corfu was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1962 a palace built (1890–91) for Elizabeth, empress of Austria, was converted to use as a casino. Pop. (2001) city, 30,140; island, 107,879; mun., 111,081; (2011) city, 24,838; mun., 102,071.