AGIOS MATHAIOS
A large village of 1,500 inhabitants, Agios Mathaios is situated 25.5 km southwest of Kerkira, on mount Mathios's side. The local sights are the Gardiki Fortress and the monastery Christou Pandokratora, where, as the legend claims, Alkinoos' wedding was held. This is the reason mount Mathios is also called "The Wedding Mountain". The famous precipice of Agios Mathaios is said to flow into the sea.
During the summer, the beach of Agios Mathaios attracts many tourists.
Argirades is a big picturesque village built during the Venetian Rule. It is situated in the southern part of the island, 33 km away from Kerkira. It has a population of 2,000 inhabitants, including the population of a nearby village, Marathias. Not far from Argirades, one can admire the beautiful beach of Agios Georgios.
Benitses is situated 13.5 km south of Kerkira, with a population of 800 inhabitants. In recent years, it has developed touristically and it has evolved into a cosmopolitan resort.
The most remarkable attraction is the Marine Museum called "The Beautiful Word of Depth" (O OMORFOS KOSMOS TOU VITHOU), founded in 1989. The exhibit includes shells, coral, and rare and fascinating fish. All the exhibits were selected by the founder, Napoleon Sayias, from the Mediterranean and surrounding seas.
The town of Cassiope, situated 37 km north of Kerkira, has a population of 1,200 inhabitants. It is built upon the cape of Cassiope, opposite the Albanian coasts. The town's inhabitants are occupied mainly with sailing and fishing. According to history, the town was founded by Pyros, who transferred Epirotians here from Cassiopia, in order to solve the problem of the scarce population on the island. According to another tradition, the town was founded by the Epirotians after the destruction of Epirus by the Romans.
It is said that in the current location of the church of Panagia Kassopitra, during the Roman years, stood the Temple of Cassius Zeus after whom the town was named. During antiquity, Cassiope was the second largest town on the island, and it thrived during the Roman years. Historical sources mention that the town was visited by Ptolemeus (48 BC), Neron, who brought an offering to Zeus and played his lyre before the Temple's altar, and Kikeron, on his way to Lefkada. From the walls (preserved until the 17th century) and the medieval castle, built by the Andegaves, only ruins are currently called Pirgos.
Apart from the beach of Cassiope, the surrounding area is characterized by developed beaches of unique natural beauty, attracting a multitude of tourists in the summer.
The island's capital was built during the Venetian Rule (1386-1797 AD), in the middle of the island's eastern part. With the "Kantounia", the old mansions, the stone steps ("skalinathes") the byzantine and post-byzantine churches and the picturesque squares which are full of trees and flowers, it brings to mind the architecture of old Italian cities. They are all well suited to the island's needs and history.
The town of Kerkira is famous for its natural beauty and its remarkable monuments of art and history. The most significant of these monuments stand on the beautiful decorated central square, Spiniada, which is joined with Epano square, in front of the Old Castle. The castle is the most visible site in town. In front of the Caste stands the statue of General Von Schulenbourg who defeated the Turks in 1716, thus saving the town. One will find of striking beauty the neoclassical buildings of the English Period, stretching from the Ionian Academy to the palaces. Equally impressive are the old mansions, which were built during the second French occupation (the imperial 1807-1814 AD) like the buildings at rue Rivoli, in Paris.
The town's most significant buildings are the two venetian castles, the Old and the New, the Palaces, the churches, the temple of Palaiopoli, the church of Agios Spyridonas (the island's patron-saint), the monastery of Platitera, the Town Hall, the Old Prefecture Building, the Reading Company, the Latin Archbishop's Palace, the "Liston" construction and its arcades and the Archaeological and the Museum of Asian Art.
Lefkimi is situated on a plain full of olive trees, grapevines and gardens, 40 km south of Kerkira. With a population of 5,000 inhabitants, it is one of the biggest towns on the island. It is famous for its wine. In the center of Lefkimi, a small canal provides refuge for the boats during stormy days. The most notable attractions are: the beautiful churches of Agioi Theodori and Agios Arsenios and the monasteries of Panagia Kira Aggelon and Panagia Arkoudila, named after the hill Arkoudila, where the monastery stands. The monasteries were built in 1696-1700, by the sons of Kapodistria Varlaam in honour of the Virgin Mary, who saved them from stormy seas. During the English rule the monastery of Panagia Kira Aggelon was burnt down, yet the church was not destroyed as it served as a shelter for ill people during the outbreak of a plague.
One of Corfu's best known and most picturesque places, Palaiokastritsa, has a population of 750 and it is situated 25 km northwest of the capital. Palaiokastritsa is connected with Kerkira by a road built by the English in 1828 AD. The landscape combines blue-green waters with picturesque rocky bays.
Here one can see the byzantine monastery of Panagia Palaiokastritissa. Palaiokastritsa's picturesque bays are Agios Spyridon, Alipa, Agia Triada, Platakia, Agios Petros and Ambelaki. In the sea, a group of rocks forms the well-known Petrokaravo or Kolovri. According to the legend, a ship with Algerian pirates, was coming to plunder the monastery but God listened to the abbot's prayer and petrified the ship, thus saving the monastery. Another legend says it once was the ship which brought Ulysses from the island of Corfu to Ithaki. This ship was petrified by Neptune's rage.
Many archaeologists claim that the palace of Alkinoos use to be in Palaiokastritsa and that the acropolis stood where the monastery stands today. In the same area, according to Homer, there was once the river where Nausica and her friends met Ulysses. At Palaiokastritsa's port one should taste lobster from the local lobster farm.
Pelekas, a picturesque village of 500 inhabitants, was built on a hill 272 m high, 13 km west of Kerkira. The narrow, winding road near the hill's peak, offers a unique view of the sea, the beach of Glifada and the island's olive trees. From "Kaiser's Thone", which was where Kaiser Wilhelm used to sit, the sunset is infamous for its brilliance.
Pelekas's beach is the beautiful sandy beach of Glifada, 3 km southwest of the village.
The monastery of Panagia Mirtidiotissa is also nearby.
A recently developed village of 400 inhabitants, Roda is situated 37 km northwest of the island's capital. The landscape is majestic, offering views of the sea and the mountains. After many excavations in the surrounding area, archaeologists discovered, among other things, an ancient temple (5th century BC), an ancient cemetery and the famous, golden statue of Pares. A number of these discoveries are exhibited in the island's archaeological museum. From Roda, one must visit the traditional settlement of Ano Perithia and the monastery of Pandokrator, both situated on the homonymous mountain's peak, Istoni. Near the village, there are beautiful stretches of sandy beach.
Two of them are the beach of Roda, and the beach of Astrakeri.
Sidari-Peroulades is a picturesque village made up of the Sidari settlement and the neigbouring settlement of Peroulades. It is situated 31 km north of the island's capital. From the village's port one can visit, by boat, the nearby islands Erikoussa, Mathraki and Othoni. In the surrounding area, ruins of a Neolithic settlement (3,000 BC) were found, along with remnants of a Venetian castle.
Sinarades is an old village, 13 km southwest of the island's capital. The Venetian belltower (15th century) dominates the scenery. In a traditional house in the village, the Museum of History and Folklore is open to visitors who can admire the village houses' furnishings, from the 19th century. The village's beach is lovely and attracts many tourists.
Ypsos is one of the most developed touristic settlements on the island. It is situated 15 km north of the island's capital, and it has a population of 420 inhabitants. It borders the beautiful sandy beach "Chrisso Mili" (golden mile).
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