Why go
Walk between the fortresses, Spianada and the old-town lanes to see how defense and civic life overlap. Corfu’s Greek name, Kerkyra, and its associations with the Phaeacians add a mythic thread, but the built city gives the strongest first impression.
The full story
Corfu occupies a strategic position near the entrance to the Adriatic. Venetian rulers fortified it against Ottoman attacks, and the capital developed within a tight defensive envelope. The Old and New Fortresses still explain why the city’s lanes are so compact. After the Napoleonic Wars, the island passed under British administration. Public spaces and buildings from that period add another layer beside the Venetian works. Corfu joined Greece with the other Ionian Islands in 1864. The old town’s surviving streets and fortifications earned UNESCO World Heritage recognition in 2007. Kerkyra, the island’s Greek name, is tied in myth to a nymph loved by Poseidon, and Corfu has long been linked with the Phaeacians of the Odyssey. These stories are part of the island’s identity, but on a first visit the fortresses and street plan make its historical position easiest to read.