The Palace of St. Michael and St. George ( gr, Ανάκτορο των Αγίων Μιχαήλ και Γεωργίου) is a

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

Corfu City Corfu (, also ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, ; grc, Κόρκυρα, Kórkyra, ; ; la, Corcyra; sq, Korfuzi) is a city and a former municipality on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government refo ...

on the island of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Commissioned by Sir Thomas Maitland, it originally served as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It was built between 1819 and 1824, to a neoclassical design of Colonel George Whitmore. The building is also known as the Royal Palace, the City Palace, or locally by the Greek name Palaia Anaktora (Παλαιά Ανάκτορα; literally "Old Palace").

History

The palace was commissioned by Sir Thomas Maitland, the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It served as the High Commissioner's residence, but was also the home of the

Ionian Senate Ionic or Ionian may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ionic meter, a poetic metre in ancient Greek and Latin poetry * Ionian mode, a musical mode or a diatonic scale Places and peoples * Ionian, of or from Ionia, an ancient region in western A ...

and the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. The foundation stone was laid on

St. George's day Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia (country), Georgi ...

in 1819, and it was completed in 1824. The location is between the old town of Corfu and the Venetian-era

Old Fortress The Old Fortress of Corfu ( gr, Παλαιό Φρούριο, ) is a Venetian fortress in the city of Corfu. The fortress covers the promontory which initially contained the old town of Corfu that had emerged during Byzantine times. Before th ...

. The palace was designed in the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style of

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, and it was the first building of that style to be constructed on Greek territory. It was designed by the British architect George Whitmore, who was a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and later a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. The building primarily consists of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

imported from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and Maltese workers were employed in its construction. The sculptural elements of the palace are the work of the Maltese sculptors

Vincenzo Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor *Vincenzo Bell ...

and Ferdinando Dimech, as well as the Corfiot sculptor

Pavlos Prosalentis Pavlos Prosalentis (Greek: Παύλος Προσαλέντης; 28 January 1784 in Corfu – 1 February 1837 in Corfu) was the first professional sculptor in modern Greece.

. After the union of Corfu with the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...

in 1864, the palace served as a

Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

residence until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It survived the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

bombardment of Corfu City during the

Corfu Incident The Corfu Incident was a 1923 diplomatic and military crisis between Greece and Italy. It was triggered when an Italian general heading a commission to resolve a border dispute between Albania and Greece was murdered in Greek territory along w ...

in 1923, but suffered greater damage from its use as a temporary housing for the refugees from

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

(1946–1949). The Greek state was only able to restore the palace interiors in 1954 with the help of a private trust organised by Sir Charles Peake, the then British Ambassador to Greece. Up to 1967, the Greek king occasionally used the palace on state occasions while in residence at his nearby villa, Mon Repos. Today the palace houses the Museum of Asian art of Corfu. The collection of the museum started in 1927 and consists mostly of donations, the largest being from

Gregorios Manos Gregorios or Gregorius may refer to: People * Gregorios Abdal Jaleel (died 1681), bishop and saint of the Syriac Orthodox Church * Gregorios Bernardakis (1848–1925), Greek philologist, palaeographer and professor * Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim (born ...

with 10,500 pieces. The two gateways which flank the palace are the gate of St. Michael and the gate of St. George. The state rooms consist of a grand staircase, a rotunda in the centre leading to two large rooms, the Throne Room and the state dining room. The Palace was renovated for the European Union Summit meeting in 1994.

Gardens

The palace gardens, complete with old Venetian stone aquariums, exotic trees and flowers, overlook the bay through old Venetian fortifications and turrets. The local sea baths are at the foot of the fortifications surrounding the gardens. A café on the grounds includes its own art gallery, with exhibitions of both local and international artists. It is locally known as the Art Café. From the same spot, the viewer can observe ships passing through the narrow channel of the historic Vido island (Βίδο Κέρκυρας) to the north, on their way to Corfu harbour (Νέο Λιμάνι), with high speed retractable aerofoil ferries from

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa ( el, Ηγουμενίτσα, ) is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, ...

cutting across the panorama. A wrought-iron aerial staircase is also to be found, closed to garden visitors, descending to the sea from the gardens, and formerly used by the

Greek Royal Family The Greek royal family (Greek: Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια) is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a branch of the House of Glücksburg, that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. Its ...

as a shortcut to the baths. Following the

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

of the Greek monarchy, the old Royal Gardens are now known as the "Garden of the People" (Ο Κήπος του Λαού).

Gallery

Museum of Asian art of Corfu 007.JPG, View of the entrance Estàtua de Sir Frederick Adam, Palaia Anaktora, Corfú.JPG, Statue of
Sir Frederick Adam
by

Pavlos Prosalentis Pavlos Prosalentis (Greek: Παύλος Προσαλέντης; 28 January 1784 in Corfu – 1 February 1837 in Corfu) was the first professional sculptor in modern Greece.

Palace of St. Michael and St. George, Corfu - September 2017.jpg, Front view Museum of Asian art of Corfu 003.JPG, Gardens Museum of Asian art of Corfu 010.JPG, Interior Museum of Asian art of Corfu 323.JPG, Meeting room of the Ionian Senate

References

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control Museums in Corfu Historic house museums in Greece Neoclassical architecture in Greece Architecture of Corfu Greek Revival buildings Limestone buildings Buildings and structures completed in 1824 1824 establishments in Greece Buildings and structures in Corfu (city) Palaces in Greece Royal residences in Greece