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Mesaria bread and bougainvillea - Andy James

The Ionian

Travel, yachting and lifestylemagazine for the Ionian Islandsand adjacent mainland Greece.

Vol. 5, Issue 5 – Sept. 2014

Publisher and EditorBarbara Molin

Advisory BoardYannis Dimopoulos

Justin Smith

LayoutRyan Smith

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www.theionian.com

We make every effort to ensurethe accuracy of each issue.However, we cannot be held

liable for any errors oromissions. The contributors'

opinions are their own.

Printed in Greece.

September is already here! How quickly the summer passed.

Children are returning to school and the retired who escaped the

summer's heat and the crowds up north are back to enjoy the

quiet anchorages and slower pace at their favourite tavernas.

This month we have Maddie Grigg and Andy James writing about Corfu Island.

Maddie's contribution is The Achilleion Palace describing one of the island's famous

estates, while Andy lets us in on some of his favourite haunts in Corfu's Most

Beautiful Village.

Our cover photo is by Peter Jeffrey. He tells us that when he took the image it was

early morning in July, when the sun hadn't quite risen over Albania and so gave a

warmeven lightofKassiopi's beaches to show the Ionian's greatclarity andcolour.

Happy reading...

≈≈_/)* Barbara Molin

Back To SchoolEditorial

MADDIE GRIGG

It’ s a place people either love or hate.

Often described as an over-the-top piece of German

kitsch, the Achilleion Palace is one of those places on

your must-see list if you are in Corfu.

I, for one, like it very much. Its opulence is overwhelming

in places. Its great staircase hits you as soon as you enter,

a celebration of Greek mythology, with statues of Zeus

and Hera and other deities playing supporting roles.

Outside, you are surrounded by statues of all shapes and

sizes, the most valuable of which is Dying Achilles by

German sculptor Ernst Gustav Herter, who was professor

of sculpture at the Berlin Academy.

Whilst a visit to the Achilleion is worth the effort,

particularly if you get there before the tour buses arrive,

the palace’s glory days seem long gone.

There is an air of shabby melancholy

about the place, as if the building is

quietly saying ‘ I was much more

beautiful than this in years gone by.’

The palace was built between 1889-1891 at the top of a

hill in Gastouri, a village just inland from the coastal

resort of Benitses. It was created for Elisabeth, the

Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, who was also

known as Sisi. The architect was Raffaele Caritto, an

Italian who built it in the Pompeian style.

Sisi named her palace the Achilleion because she greatly

admired the Greek hero Achilles. He was the one who

famously turned the tables at Troy by killing Hector but

died a tragic death by an arrow to the heel, fired,

according to some sources, by Paris. Sisi considered that

Achilles combined Greek divine beauty (he was

descended from the sea nymph Thetis) valour and tragic

fate.

The AchilleionPalace

Pride of place in the Achilleion gardens is the Dying

Achilles statue, along with a larger-than-life sized bronze

of the hero which was installed by the Kaiser, the German

Emperor Wilhelm II.

Sisi spoke fluent Greek and visited the Achilleion twice a

year until 1898 when she was killed in Geneva with a

dagger wielded by an Italian anarchist. After her death the

palace was closed for nine years until it was sold by her

daughter to the Kaiser, who used it as a summer residence.

He visited it until 1814 when World War I was declared.

During the war, the Achilleion was used as a military

hospital by French and Serbian troops. By the end of the

war, the property was passed to the Greek State. During

1941 -1944, it was used by the Italian and German

occupation forces as military headquarters, returning to

the Greeks’ possession at the end of World War II.

In 1963, a private company leased it and turned the upper

floors into a casino, the first in Greece. It features in the

James Bond film For Your Eyes Only in 1981 . Two years

later, the palace came under the management of the Greek

Tourism Organisation. It was restored in 1994 and has

been used as a museum ever since.

Maddie Grigg writes a blog The World from My

Window, recounting tales from Corfu and Dorset.

Corfu's Most Beautiful VillageANDY JAMES

Browsing the internet for inspiration as to which of Corfu'sdelightful villages I should visit during a short holiday inearly June I found several sources. One stood out in itssimplicity and boldness, seeking "the most beautiful villageon the island" based upon recommendations from localpeople. To those people; a heartfelt " thank you." Such hasbeen my pleasure in following your guidance I feelcompelled to share it. I trust my simple review does yourcharming homes justice.

Just 7 km south of Corfu Town, Kinopiastes nestles among

olive groves and orchards. Perhaps best known for Trypas

Taverna's Greek nights, visitors who don't stroll through

Kinopiastes before dinner miss a treat. Traditional stone

houses with faded shutters and half-pipe tile roofs stand in

harmony with modern dwellings in cream, peach, ochre or

pale yellow. Houses without flowers either in pots or a

garden are rare and bougainvillea abounds. The 17th century

monastery is being restored yet the magnificence of its

interior is already a joy to behold. In the village square ladies

in black talk conspiratorially on shady benches offering a

cheery response to any who take the time to smile and say

"kalimera", while cats dozing in the heat stare quizzically

before resuming their slumber.

The hillside overlooking Palaiokastritsa is terraced with

olive groves and vines; perched on a ledge in the middle of

which is Lakones. The road narrows dramatically in the

middle of the village and as the terrain is steep there are few

side streets. Narrow steps give access to old stone houses

with fading whitewash lending the village a timelessness.

Newer properties built sympathetically and often in pink,

cream or pastel yellow, intermingle with traditional

buildings. Popular with visitors, many only visit the tourist

haunts and miss the delights of the real Lakones and the

friendliness I experienced. Where better to marvel at

breathtaking views over the sapphire sea and misty hills

beyond than from a cafe or snack bar in the village?

Little more than 3 km over the headland north-west of

Lakones as the crow flies, yet over 6 km by road due to the

steepness of the terrain, rests the tiny village of Prinilas.

With glimpsed views over Agios Georgios and the bay to the

east this traditional hamlet exudes peace and tranquility. I

found myself wincing at my footfall crunching on gravel as I

walked to the well preserved 14th century church of Agios

Nikolaus with its pastel-shaded bell tower. With no shops or

cafe Prinilas seems rarely disturbed by the traffic more

common elsewhere. Along a fascinating alleyway I

encountered purple bougainvillaea of breathtaking profusion

and vibrancy; my pleasure heightened by the elegance with

which brimstone butterflies capered among the blooms.

Arriving at the village square on a track through olive

terracing and having seen several dancing fritillaries I was

already well-disposed towards Nymfes. Well known for its

kumquat orchards some of which rest in a narrow green

valley between the main village to the north and the smaller

southern part, there is more to Nymfes than fruit. More even

than the springtime waterfalls where legendary nymphs

bathed. Drawing my eye away from a circling buzzard I saw

traditional houses and newer developments, many in white

but with stone and pastel shades too. Red roofs among trees

and palms enchant under a cloudless azure sky. Crisscrossed

with narrow paths, forays into the village beyond the main

road reveal an artist's delight of picturesque houses and

shady gardens.

Appearing from a distance like a patched ochre cap on a

richly wooded knoll, Mesaria discretely welcome visitors.

Yet with no shop or cafe few see beyond the main road.

Although an impression of gentility may be gained from here

with the sympathetic proximity of original and renovated

buildings, real gems lay behind. Ancient stone barns, narrow

whitewashed houses and tiny gardens thickly planted with

flowers and vegetables intermingle like a complex jigsaw.

While I admired her display an old lady, greeting me with

"calla, calla" (beautiful, beautiful), picked a red geranium for

me to savour. Nearby a swallowtail rested delicately on a

pink bloom. Was beauty ever more refined, or an old lady's

greeting more apt?

So which village earned the title "most beautiful" on the

website that inspired me? Perhaps recalling Plato's oft quoted

view that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, it chose not

to be that courageous. Having found beauty in each of these

places in different ways, I do likewise. Although Corfu is

blessed with many beautiful villages, most beautiful are the

people without whom a village would be but a museum.

Thank you all for making me so welcome.

NNyymmffeess

MMeessaarrii aa

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