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Photo: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A palace built in Corfu by Empress of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi after a suggestion by Austrian Consul Alexander von Watzberg. Sissi was a woman obsessed with beauty and very powerful but tragically vulnerable since the loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in the Mayerling affair in 1889. A year later in 1890 she built a summer palace in the region of Gastouri (Γαστούρι), now the municipality of Achilleion, about 10 km to the south of the city of Corfu. The palace was designed with the mythical hero Achilles as its central theme.
The Achilleion is a palace built on Corfu for Empress Elisabeth of Austria after a suggestion by the Austrian consul Alexander von Warsberg. Elisabeth was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria following the Mayerling incident in 1889, and a year later she had this summer palace built as a refuge.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A beautiful islet that looks like a miniature and has become the city landmark.
A neoclassical-style villa which served as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the United States of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam in the early 19th century. After the union with Greece in 1864, the villa was granted to the Greek Royal Family and renamed Mon Repos. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born in Mon Repos on 10 June 1921. The mansion is now home to the Palaiopolis Museum.
The museum hosts collections of archaeological finds, including the impressive Gorgon pediment from the Temple of Artemis, dating from 585 BC. It is the oldest stone pediment in Greece and is described in the New York times review of the museum as the finest example of Archaic temple sculpture extant. Of particular note is the 'Lion of Menecrates', the work of a Corinthian sculptor of the Archaic period, dated to the end of the 7th century BC.
The Esplanade
Spianada is the central square and the meeting point of Corfu's residents and visitors. It is built in the style of the Royal Gardens of Europe. At one time it was a firing range for Venetian troops.
Greek: Palio Frourio. Italian: Fortezza Nuova
Less impressive, the new fortress was built by the Venetians on the 16th century atop the San Marco Hill. The most significant attractions of the New Fortress are: the British barracks, the underground stoas, water ducts, ammunition storage rooms etc. The Museum of Ceramic Art is housed here. Theatrical performances, exhibitions and concerts are also held on the fortress premises.
The Liston is a building complex with long arcades built in 1807 by the French imperial commissioner Mathieu de Lesseps, father of the constructor of the Suez Canal. It is an excellent example of architecture from Napoleonic period, when Corfu was part of the First French Empire. The design was inspired by the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. The Liston runs along the west side of the Spianáda.