Corfu News

Corfu has had the history of being a highly fortified town with extremely imposing defensive strongholds. Two of those defense works are still standing tall on this war ridden island. The Old and New fortress are all that remain of the fortress complex. This complex was destroyed by the British who attempted to blow it up during the withdrawal of their forces. The monument still holds remnants of its past glory and symbolism.

Parts of the fort have been restored such as the St. Mark’s tower, or what we know as the New fortress. This has been a brilliant example of the restoration work carried out on the fortifications. The tower was constructed on the hillock of St. Mark, with soil accumulated from neighbouring areas and chiseled stone collected mainly from the ancient city of Coru.

According to the president of the Corfu Town Municipality (ANEDK), Mr. Ioannis Spatulas, the development enterprise took over a decade to complete after years of neglect. There were limited funds but it did manage to give the historical monument a new lease of life.

The restoration managed to make the difficult parts of the monument accessible to visitors. Especially the underground labyrinths and tunnels are now preserved and lit up for the visitors. The fortress has been the victim of time, rather than the actions of Pirates or invading fortresses. Major parts of the fortress have either ended up in the sea or are dangerously close to falling into it. Spatulas says that the monument should belong to the Corfu Town Municipality as it has experience, ability and knowledge to reverse its fate.