Mon Repos is a former
royal summer residence on the
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
of
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. It lies south of
Corfu City in the forest of Palaeopolis. Since 2001, it has housed the Museum of Palaiopolis—Mon Repos.
History
British High Commissioners
The
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
was built as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the
United States of the Ionian Islands
The United States of the Ionian Islands was a Greeks, Greek state (polity), state and Protectorate#Amical_protection, amical protectorate of the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1864. The succession of states, successor state of the Septinsular R ...
,
Frederick Adam, and his second wife (a
Corfiot
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
), Diamantina 'Nina' Palatino, in 1828–1831, although they had to vacate the villa soon afterwards in 1832 when Adam was sent to serve in
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The
neoclassical design was made by Colonel
George Whitmore, who was also the architect of the
Palace of St. Michael and St. George on Spianada Square in
Corfu City, along with civil engineer J. Harper. The villa was rarely used as a residence for later British governors.
In 1833, the School of Fine Arts was relocated to the estate, with Corfiot sculptor Pavlos Prosalentis serving as director, and in 1834, public gardens were established on the estate's farmland. In 1840, during the tenure of Lord Howard Douglas as High Commissioner, the Theological Seminary was moved there, where it remained for two years.
In 1863 and several times afterward, the
Empress of Austria,
Elisabeth of Austria, stayed at the villa. Here she fell in love with the island, where she later built the
Achilleion Palace, in the village of
Gastouri.
Royal residence
After the union with Greece in 1864, the villa and the gardens were gifted to
King George I of the Hellenes as a summer residence; he renamed it "Mon Repos" (French for "My Rest"). The Greek royal family used it as a summer residence up until King
Constantine II fled the country in 1967. The villa subsequently became derelict, but was restored in the 1990s.
Additionally, Mon Repos hosted prime ministers, kings, and princes from Spain and England. It is said that the guesthouse, which is a second building next to the main villa, was named "
Tito" after the leader of former Yugoslavia.
Several royal births have taken place at the villa, including those of
Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark on 26 June 1914,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
(the husband of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
) on 10 June 1921, and
Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark on 10 July 1965.
[ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke's Royal Families of the World: ''Volume I Europe & Latin America'', 1977, pp. 67, 316, 327–328. ] Philip was born on the dining room table.
Confiscation
The villa was confiscated under controversial circumstances some years after the declaration of the
Third Hellenic Republic
The Third Hellenic Republic () is the period in modern Greek history that stretches from 1974, with the fall of the Greek military junta and the final confirmation of the abolition of the Greek monarchy, to the present day.
It is considered ...
in 1974. Its confiscation, and the confiscation of other property of the deposed and exiled
King Constantine II, without any compensation, led to a court case in the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
.
The King's argument centred on the claim that the property in question was acquired by his predecessors legally and was therefore subject to regular personal inheritance. The Greek state argued that because the property was either used by the royal family by virtue of its sovereign status or obtained by taking advantage of that status, once the monarchy was abolished, the property reverted to public ownership automatically.
The Court ordered the Hellenic Republic to pay the exiled king compensation of less than 1% of its worth and allowed the Greek state to retain ownership of the property.
Today
The royal villa nowadays houses the Museum of Palaiopolis, which opened in 2001.
On the ground floor, visitors can experience the atmosphere of the 19th century, with portraits, furniture, and a dress belonging to the palace's first resident, Diamantina-Nina Palatianou, Lady Adams, as well as her personal items (a donation from the Palatianou family to the museum). Through these exhibits, visitors can gain an understanding of the lifestyle and character of the people in the early decades of the 19th century.
On the first floor of the museum, visitors can view the exhibition of archaeological artifacts found during excavations in the Palaiopolis area. These objects serve as a source of inspiration, research, and study of ancient Corfu, ranging from the Archaic to the Roman period.
Architecture
The building is characterized by strict symmetry, composed of two solid masses. The villa, the main mass, is a three-story luxurious structure built in the neoclassical architectural style that prevailed during the English
Regency
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. The building features simple lines with large openings, placing it among the early neoclassical buildings of Greece.
Interior
Upon entering through the main door of the building, one notices the columned hall, which leads to the other rooms and, via a beautiful staircase, to the second floor. The visitor can find the ticket office to the right of the main hall and then continue exploring the space. The remaining rooms serve as exhibition spaces, and it is worth visiting the inner atrium, which is located at the back of the building. The atrium substitutes, to some extent, for the natural environment, an impression supported by the existing artistic plant decoration. On the ground floor, objects related to the life and former use of the building are on display. These include rare documents, paintings, furniture, and findings related to the building, such as collections of 19th-century artworks, as mentioned earlier in broad terms.
Finally, the visitor can view the photography exhibition, which includes images from the excavations in the ancient city of Corfu. This material relates to the trade, daily life, and worship practices of the people of Corfu during antiquity.
Ascending from the main columned hall to the second floor, one is impressed by the wooden spiral staircase. On this floor, additional exhibitions with more modern themes are housed. In this area, temporary exhibitions and educational programs are also organized.
In the second building, which was used as a guesthouse and is named "Tito," the conservation workshops for archaeological finds are housed. There is also a small storage room that contains rare objects, which are displayed periodically.
References
Literature
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External links
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Gallery: the Palace interior
File: Υπόστηλη αίθουσα Μον Ρεπό.JPG , The vestibule
File: Δευτερος όροφος Μον Ρεπό.JPG , The central hall on the second floor
File: Villa Mon Repos.JPG
File: Εκθεσιακός χώρος Μον Ρεπό.JPG
File: 20140418 corfu214.JPG
{{authority control
1831 establishments in Europe
1831 establishments in the British Empire
Houses completed in 1831
19th-century architecture in Greece
Archaeological museums in the Ionian Islands (region)
Architecture of Corfu
Buildings and structures in Corfu (city)
Museums in Corfu
Neoclassical architecture in Greece
Palaces in Greece
Royal residences in Greece
George I of Greece
United States of the Ionian Islands
Villas in Greece