Μνημεία της νεώτερης Κέρκυρας

Abstract

In 1630-31, a palazzo was built for one of the counsellors in the recently fortified (late 16th century) city of Corfu. A year later, it became the official residence of the Latin Archbishops of the island. Among the first residents, Archbishop Carolus Labia (1659-1678) was responsible for most of the building’s embellishments. In the Vatican there exists a picture by a Greek painter, commissioned by Archbishop Angelo Maria Quirini (1724-1727), which depicts the main hall on the ground floor. The building was destroyed by an earthquake (1743 and 1745) and rebuilt «e fundamentis» by the Archbishop Antonio Nani in 1754. It bears quite a close resemblance to the former building, as shown in the plans in the city’s inventory book (1771 ?) After the French, under Napoleon, had expelled the Latin Archbishop (1797), the palazzo was used for municipal meetings (Demarchia). A few years later, the first Greek Orthodox Metropolitan was elected under its roof (1799-1800). The British were the first to use the building for judiciary purposes. A number of improvements and alterations were made at the time. As far back as 1836, Major Me. Niven, to whom we owe a fine panoramic view of the city, marked it as «Palace of Justice». It was in this capacity that it was used after the Seven Islands’ Union with Greece, until its destruction in the last war (1943). Recently purchased by the Bank of Greece for the purpose of housing its Corfu Branch, it now awaits restoration and reintegration in the life of the city.