Why is Corfu so Italian?

In the 12th century, the Kingdom of Naples sent some Italian families to Corfu to rule the island. From the Fourth Crusade of 1204 onwards, the Republic of Venice sent many Italian families to Corfu. These families brought the Italian language of the Middle Ages to the island.



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In 1386, the Venetians, seeking a strategic entry point into the Adriatic for naval interests, annexed Corfu, exerting their influence over the island's culture, architecture, language, and most notably, its food.

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The architecture of Corfu City still reflects its long Venetian heritage, with its multi-storied buildings, its spacious squares such as the popular Spianada and the narrow cobblestone alleys known as Kantounia. The town began to grow during the Venetian period on a low hillock situated between the two forts.

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Corfu lies off the northwestern coast of Greece, near Albania, where the Ionian Sea meets the Adriatic. The Lion of St. Mark, one of the most iconic symbols of Venice, is an emblem of Corfu, too, another present-day reminder of the island's Venetian history.

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The ulterior motive for the invasion was Corfu's strategic position at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. The crisis was the first major test for the League of Nations but the League failed it. It showed that the League was weak and couldn't settle disputes when a great power confronted a small one.

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The French occupied Corfu for only a year before a Russian-Turkish fleet took the island, leaving the Russians in control and declaring the island part of the Eftanisos State – the State of the Seven Islands.

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The escalating migrant crisis has put many alarmed holidaymakers off visiting Greece, but the popular Greek island of Corfu is not affected. Corfu and other Ionian islands are unaffected due to their location off Greece's northwest coast in the Ionian Sea across from Italy.

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Corfu, known as Kerkyra in Greek, owes its name to the Nymph Korkyra, the daughter of the River God, Asopus. According to the myth, Poseidon, God of the Sea, fell in love with Nymph Korkyra, kidnapped her and brought her to this island.

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One very important aspect of Corfu we didn't mention so far: the residents of the island. The are called Greeks, but they call themself Corfiots.

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Corfu is well-known as the perfect Mediterranean destination for luxury holidays.

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Corfu is famous for its charming architecture as it features a cluster of colorful buildings dated back to the Venetian period. The island's historic town is a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site and undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and elegant ones worldwide.

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From the 15th century, Corfu was under Venetian rule for some four centuries, then passing to French, British and Greek governments. At various occasions, it had to defend the Venetian maritime empire against the Ottoman army.

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On September 27 the Italian flag was lowered and the Italian troops evacuated Corfu. The Italian fleet and a Greek destroyer saluted the Italian flag, and when the Greek flag hoisted, the Italian flagship saluted it. 40,000 residents of Corfu welcomed the prefect when he landed, and shouldered him to the prefecture.

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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.

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Hello: Ge?a (Yah). This is the most common Greek greeting used for all occasions. If you're greeting one person, you can say Ge?? s?? (YAH su). If you're greeting a group, you should say Ge?a sa? (YAH sas).

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It's not clear where the name comes from. Some say that the island was full of mice in the past, some others that it has a mouse shape if you look it from top. There is also a legend that refers to the island as the ship of Odysseus which Poseidon turned to stone. Mouse island can be reached from Kanoni are, in town.

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Corfu was the only Greek island not conquered by the Turks. The island was the cradle of culture and science. In Corfu was founded the first university or Greece, called the Ionian University and the first modern theater and opera of Greece.

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Top 15 Things to Eat in Corfu, Greece
  • Stakofisi. This is Corfu's word for stock fish, namely wind-dried cod, which captures the salt in the air as it dries. ...
  • Fish Bourdeto. ...
  • Fish Bianco. ...
  • Pastrokio Eggplant. ...
  • Pastitsada. ...
  • Zorka. ...
  • Pasta Frola. ...
  • Sikomaida.


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With houses dating from the 14th century, Old Perithia is Corfu's most ancient village. Built to be safe from pirate attacks, it's near the top of the island's highest peak, Mount Pantokrator, surrounded by dense forest and with views over the Ionian Sea towards Albania.

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In November 1815 Corfu came under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars, and in 1864 was ceded to modern Greece by the British government along with the remaining islands of the United States of the Ionian Islands under the Treaty of London.

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