Corfu Old Town

Corfu's medieval town grew up on the twin-peaked headland of the Old Fortress after the ancient city on the Kanoni peninsula was destroyed in the 6th century AD; the island's name derives from this Byzantine town of Koryfo. Venice took definitive control in 1386 and, over about four centuries, turned Corfu into a key stronghold, adding the bastioned front of the Old Fortress in the 16th century and the New Fortress in 1576. The island was never taken by the Ottomans despite several sieges, including in 1537 and 1716.

French rule (1797 to 1799 and 1807 to 1814), a period under Russian and Ottoman protection, and British rule (1815 to 1864) followed before Corfu joined Greece in 1864. The British modernised the fortifications and built the Palace of St Michael and St George and the Doric-style Church of St George inside the Old Fortress in 1849. UNESCO inscribed the Old Town of Corfu in 2007 as an urban and port ensemble dominated by its fortresses of Venetian origin, with housing largely from the 19th century.

Corfu Town is the island's lively capital, with residents' homes above shops in the old lanes and a strong tradition of music, theatre and religious processions. Saint Spyridon is deeply revered, and his holy shrine is carried in a great litany on Palm Sunday along the old Venetian walls to commemorate the island's deliverance from plague in 1629. Dress modestly for church visits.