This week on Easy Reserve, we have been talking about the incredible island gem that is
Corfu. A luxury destination in the Ionian Islands in
Greece, it is a place for sun, sea, and fun. The landscape of the island is rugged and charming with lots of opportunities for hiking and exploration and also boasts perfect beaches (such as the beach of Porto Timoni that we discussed in our
last post) and glittering sapphire waters made for relaxing, sunning oneself, snorkelling, and lazy days on a boat. However, in addition to the overwhelming natural beauty and perfection of the island, Corfu is also an unexpected cultural gem. Having spent time under under Venetian, French, and British rule throughout the centuries before being united with Greece in 1864, it is a place with a diverse and rich cultural heritage and history, which is reflected in the range of architectural styles that one stumbles past on the island and in the excellent cultural institutions on the island, such as the
Museum of Asian Art of Corfu.
The Museum of Asian Art of Corfu is located in in the
Palace of St. Michael and St. George in Corfu City on the island of Corfu. This Greek Revival style neoclassical gem by Colonel George Whitmore was originally commissioned by Sir Thomas Maitland as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands and was built between 1819 and 1824. It was then used as a Royal residence after Corfu became part of Greece, until the Second World War. While it survived the Italian bombardment of the city during the Corfu Incident in 1923, it was later used for the temporary housing of refugees from Epirus during the Greek Civil War in the 1940s, which left it in a state of disrepair. Thankfully, with the help of a private trust organised by Sir Charles Peake, the then British Ambassador to Greece, the state was able to restore the palace interiors in 1954. The Greek king continued to use the palace for some state occasions until the 1960s but, today, it is solely used to house the Museum of Asian Art of Corfu.