A brief history of Corfu town – One of Europe’s most impressive urban settlements

You don’t have to travel too far in Europe before you stumble upon an interesting town amassed with alleyways lined with stunning architecture and ancient relics.

Corfu town, with its maze of narrow streets, dominated by an old fortress, ancient chapels, stunning gardens and a Venetian vibe that has maintained for two centuries, certainly has all the elements of a gem of a European town.

With snippets of Venice, France and even a dash of England evident throughout the town it is not difficult to understand in 2007 Corfu Old Town was added to the UNESCO world heritage list. Here, we list a very brief history of Corfu town:

For a long time Corfu was ruled from Venice and the Venetians had to stand firm on the island against attacks from the Turks. Corfu Town is built on a small peninsula and one can only imagine the sieges, which the town heroically withstood from the Turks who never established a beachhead on Corfu.

Eventually Corfu fell into British hands after the Napoleonic Wars who were on Corfu until 1864, when the treaty of London was signed declaring Corfu to be part of Greece.

Today many of the dwellings within Corfu Town are those that were built by the British and boast an elegant neo-classical style. Many of the buildings were exceptional in their splendour and magnificence, such as the Palace of the Saints Michael and George. This extravagant building was built by the British in the early eighteen hundreds and was the birthplace of Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh. The Palace of the Saints Michael and George hosted the EU summit back in 1994.

Augmenting Corfu Town’s photogenic profile even further is a monastery on an island just off the coast of the town.  With so many astounding historic and architectural delights lining the streets, it is hardly surprising that tourism always seems to be thriving in Corfu Town.

Asides visiting the many ancient buildings, Corfu Town has a myriad of great restaurants and bars. For any cricket fans, the locals still play cricket in Corfu Town, which is another oddity that the British left behind!