Saint Michael and Saint George Palace in Corfu Town on the Greek island o' Corfu
This palace is the only example of Georgian architecture in the Mediterranean. At the beginning was the mansion of the British Governor Sir T. Maitland, then became the summer residence of the Greek Royal Family and recently was restored with a view to the European Union Summit (1994). In the past it was the seat of the Order of Knights of Saint George and Saint Michael, from which the palace takes his name, and then the seat of the Ionian Republic Senate. Today inside the palace there are the Museum of Asian Art, the council art gallery and the Department of Classical Antiquities of Corfu. From the architectonic point of view the Palace of Saint Michael and Saint George is characterized by Doric arcade on the facade and bas-reliefs representing the seven Ionian islands along the length of the is symbolized by a ship, Paxi by a trident, Kitira by Aphrodite with a dolphin and the other islands by the faces of their heroes. On the ends of the palace there are two arches, on the left there is Saint George arch, under which cars can pass to reach the old port, while on the right there is Saint Michael arch that leads to an inner front of this neoclassical palace there are a garden and a fountain that has in the middle the bronze statue of Sir Frederick Adam, the man who supervised the construction of the aqueduct in the city. Inside the palace there are a wonderful hall decorated with ionic columns and frescoes with scenes of Odissea and a splendid stairs that brings to the antechamber of the first floor decorated with Corinthian columns. On the ground floor there are three halls: the ballroom that is round, the Throne Hall and the banquets hall. There are also on the first floor the Museum of Asian Art, in the east wing an art gallery with works of Corfiots artists of XIX century and also temporary exhibitions, a municipal library and a coffee bar with on the walls maps of great historical and artistic value.
Size: 6928px × 1920px
Location: Kerkira, Corfu, Greece
Photo credit: © Brenda Kean / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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