Corfu
Corfu Town: The New Fortress
*Page under construction*
Corfu Town, the island of Corfu's capital, has two imposing strongholds: the New Fortress featured here, and the Old Fortress. The New Fortress is smaller and not as high as its southerly neighbour and was built to protect the Old harbour and its approaches. The Venetians began construction of the castle in 1577 and it was completed together with the town wall around 1588. A broad, deep moat was also added to bolster defences.
Venetian Coats of Arms or 'blazons' with the Lion of Saint Mark, are featured on the New Fortress walls in several places.
The fort consists of two levels. The lower protected the harbour while the higher one overlooked the city and all landward approaches. Apart from the Commander`s house and a few belonging to aristocrats, there were initially no other dwellings within the complex.
The barracks and other buildings which still exist within the fortress were built by the British during their rule of the island (1815–63). Both they, and the French before them, had expanded and improved the original Venetian fortifications.
Part of the New Fortress currently houses the local headquarters of the Hellenic Navy.
Unlike it's older counterpart, the New Fortress has free admission for visitors between 0900 - 1700hrs.
Several monuments and memorials stand on the waterfront below the walls of the New Fortress.
Venetian Coats of Arms or 'blazons' with the Lion of Saint Mark, are featured on the New Fortress walls in several places.
The fort consists of two levels. The lower protected the harbour while the higher one overlooked the city and all landward approaches. Apart from the Commander`s house and a few belonging to aristocrats, there were initially no other dwellings within the complex.
The barracks and other buildings which still exist within the fortress were built by the British during their rule of the island (1815–63). Both they, and the French before them, had expanded and improved the original Venetian fortifications.
Part of the New Fortress currently houses the local headquarters of the Hellenic Navy.
Unlike it's older counterpart, the New Fortress has free admission for visitors between 0900 - 1700hrs.
Several monuments and memorials stand on the waterfront below the walls of the New Fortress.
|
The Old Fortress
text
text
Please bear in mind that all images on this website and my blog are Copyright. They are not free to use and have been embedded with a digital watermark.