Corfu Town: views of a Sunday Morning in the Old Town
A very long time ago we travelled across Europe for several months with my old friend John Nethercott, at one point taking a ferry from Patras in Greece to Brindisi in Southern Italy - a boat which called in at Corfu early in the morning.
I vaguely remember sensing the magic of the place - knowing that one day I would return to explore it properly. It took me 41 years, but I got there in the end…
The Liston
And now, on this grey damp Sunday morning in Somerset god-knows how long into the lockdown, I recall an altogether brighter more jolly Sunday morning when we breakfasted in Corfu Town three or four years ago…
There can’t be anyone who does not like Corfu Town. It is a pleasant place as any around the Mediterranean - helped considerably, of course, by its Venetian architecture.
I’m talking about the Old Town, of course. When you’re writing about town s and saying how pleasant they are you will inevitably be referring to the ancient quarters and not the sprawling concrete horrors of the modern world.
They may have had their mercenary faults, those Venetians, but they certainly knew how to make a place of human occupation look good. Alas, quite large sections of the Venetian town were knocked down centuries ago too make way for yet more grandeur - but there’s enough left to give the place that uniquely ‘elegant’ feel.
If I could make a little wish right now it would be a quick trip on a magic carpet so that I could spend an hour strolling around The Campiello, which is the mediaeval heart of Corfu Town. Just a stroll, wandering aimlessly about , before finding a little place for lunch somewhere on the Liston - the long elegant arcade which is lined with cafés, restaurants and boutiques.
It dates back to Venetian times, but I believe it was the French, during their brief rule of the island, who gave it this arcade its Parisian feel.…
Sunday morning is a particularly quiet time in town - you hear the singing emanating from churches and you see one or two people mooching about looking for somewhere for breakfast. By lunchtime it’s all warming up quite a bit and there are far more people around - and you are treated to all the usual Greek temptations…
Anyway, right now lunch somewhere along the Liston would do me fine.
