The Venetian arsenal at Gouvia was a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

built by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

during their rule over 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 ...

. It was located on the west side of what used to be called "Govino Bay", the current location of the modern village of Gouvia. The arsenal was built in 1716 as part of defenses against the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. It was abandoned by the Venetians in 1798, when the Venetian Republic ceased to exist. In 2017, the regional director of the Ionian Islands approved the sum of €500,000 for the "rehabilitation and promotion of the Venetian arsenal at Gouvia". These projects are the first for the Ionian Islands for the 2014-2020 fiscal year and they are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Greek government. On 22 May 2016, to celebrate the restoration of lighting to the monument, the local cultural agency of Gouvia and the Greek Society for the Environment organised a concert at the arsenal where the Philharmonic Society of Corfu "Mantzaros" and the German choir "Dinkelsbühler Knabenkapelle" from Neumarkt, Germany performed marching songs.

Description

The remains of the old arsenal still exist at the Bay of Gouvia, and are located approximately 8 km from

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 ...

. The ruins are behind the modern

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

of the port of Gouvia and are separated from it by an iron fence. The Venetian shipyard features three arched docks which were used to service their two fleets which were stationed in Corfu. The columns, walls and arches of the arsenal survive almost intact but the roof is missing. The arches have been described as "beautifully boned", "strong" and "impressive", "almost surreal", and "a striking collection of skeletal arches".

History

View of the Corfu Venetian arsenal from the bay of Gouvia cropped

Located near the mouth of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, Corfu was a very strategic location for Venice and the Venetians built extensive fortifications to defend the island against incursions. The island was also at the centre of their naval operations in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

. As part of their defence plans the Venetians stationed two squadrons in Corfu, one of twenty five

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s, the other of twelve heavy

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...

s. Two Venetian Vice Admirals oversaw the naval operations in Corfu, one for each squadron. Corfu Gouvia Venetian Shipyard R02

In the aftermath of the second great siege of Corfu by the

in 1716, the Venetians, as part of their reinforcement of the fortifications of Corfu, built the arsenal to service their ships, that used the bay as a port. Besides its strategic importance, the location was near a forested area that could provide high quality wood for ship repairs. The shipyard at Gouvia was part of a network of

Venetian arsenal The Venetian Arsenal ( it, Arsenale di Venezia) is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian republic's ...

s and naval stations in Greece, including shipyards in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

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 ...

, the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, the

Kingdom of Candia The Realm or Kingdom of Candia ( Venetian: ''Regno de Càndia'') or Duchy of Candia ( Venetian: ''Dogado de Càndia'' ) was the official name of Crete during the island's period as an overseas colony of the Republic of Venice, from the initial V ...

(modern

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

) and even Venice itself. Aside from Corfu, such locations in Greece included Methoni,

Koroni Koroni or Corone ( el, Κορώνη) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos ...

Chalkis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

and

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

The keystone of the arched gate at the entrance to the shipyard bears the inscription"ZBM/ANNO/MDCCL/XXVIII" in four lines. "ANNO MDCCLXXVIII" means "year 1778". The letters "ZBM" are probably the initials of one of the Venetian captains who constructed the arsenal and added their coat of arms and initials to the buildings. (This practice by the Venetian captains has been documented in the late-18th-century writings of French consul to Corfu Saint-Sauveur.) The arsenal at Gouvia was supposed to be used for ship repairs during the winter after each fleet had returned from their yearly campaign during peacetime. However, the

Venetian Senate The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

became alarmed at the prospect of an arsenal in proximity to Venice which could potentially compete with the central arsenal in Venice. In order to protect the privileges of the latter, the Senate limited the repair activities at Corfu to basic maintenance such as cleaning and caulking. Many captains, instead of repairing their damaged ships at the arsenal, chose to sink them. As time went on, the number of ships being serviced at the location declined. Use of the site was finally discontinued when the

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...

, signed on 18 October 1798, put an end to the Republic of Venice and to the Venetian dominion over Corfu, which had lasted for over 400 years.

Admiral Ushakov Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov ( rus, Фёдор Фёдорович Ушако́в, p=ʊʂɐˈkof; – ) was an 18th century Russian naval commander and admiral. He is notable for winning every engagement he participated in as the Admiral of t ...

landed his troops at the site of the arsenal and created a military camp there during the Siege of Corfu in 1798. The arsenal also functioned as a base for the French in 1917–1918.

Conservation and restoration

In 2011, the regional director of the Ionian Islands, submitted a plan to the

Greek Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture and Sports ( el, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) is the government department of Greece entrusted with preserving the country's cultural heritage, promoting the arts, and overseeing sp ...

for the conservation and development of the ruins. The proposal includes the plans of the landmark which have been developed by the polytechnic of Bari which consist of photographs, historical analysis of the structure and diagrams. The study was funded by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

regional funding programme Interreg III

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 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

The 2011 application of the director described the state of ruin and neglect of the arsenal which used to invite negative comments by visitors to the area, given the historical importance of the monument to the Ionian Islands and Greece, and suggested to the ministry the restoration of its walls and roof and its conversion to a Museum of the Sea. The application also included mention of the support of the proposal of the director of the 21st Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of Greece, who approved of the idea calling it "very good and indispensable". The ministry, in response to the 2011 application, had expressed interest in the idea, and had described the arsenal as a monument of high importance for the Venetian period of Corfu. The Ministry also explained that the arsenal was not yet eligible for the special government programme which provides funds for the development of the Greek provinces but suggested a joint funding project with the participation of the Ionian Islands directorate. The ministry also proposed that the gate of the monument be immediately repaired and structurally braced for safety reasons, suggesting the participation of the 21st Ephorate in any future repair works. In 2017, the regional director of the Ionian Islands approved the sum of €500,000 for the "rehabilitation and promotion of the Venetian arsenal at Gouvia". These projects are the first for the Ionian Islands for the 2014-2020 fiscal year and they are funded by the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

(ERDF) and the Greek government. On 22 May 2016, to celebrate the restoration of lighting to the monument, the local cultural agency of Gouvia and the Greek Society for the Environment organised a concert at the arsenal where the

Philharmonic Society of Corfu The Philharmonic Society of Corfu ( el, Φιλαρμονική Εταιρεία Κερκύρας, ''Philharmonice Ɛtaerɛia Cɛrcyras'', ), or ''Old Philharmonic'' (Παλαιά Φιλαρμονική) -to be distinguished from the other 17 bands ...

"Mantzaros" and the German choir "Dinkelsbühler Knabenkapelle" from Neumarkt,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

performed marching songs.

Description

History

Conservation and restoration

References

See also