St. Spyridon is the patron saint of Corfu and a focus of strong devotion on the island where he is known simply as 'The Saint'.
Spyridon was a Cypriot bishop, said to have performed numerous miracles. During the 7th century, the saint's revered remains were transferred from Cyprus to Constantinople, but, on the fall of the city in 1453, his body was brought, eventually, to Corfu by an itinerant priest. The remains lie in the Church of St Spyridon. The Saint is associated with several miraculous events that saved the island from plague, famine and Turkish siege and these are celebrated with solemn, but colorful, processions in which his remains are carried through Corfu Town
Ioannis Kapodistrias. Count John Capodistrias (1776-1831) was a celebrated Corfiot who, in 1827, became the first President of Independent Greece. In 1831 his career was cut short, however, when he was assassinated at Nafplio in the Peloponnese by violent critics of his political program. Born in Corfu in 1776, Kapodistrias practiced as a doctor, and then entered island politics. During the French occupation of Corfu he left the island and joined the Russian foreign service. In 1822 he retired and devoted himself to the cause of Greek independence. Kapodistrias is buried in Moni Platyteras (the Monastery of Platitera) in Corfu Town. A small museum in Evropouli, to the west of the town, celebrates his life
Nicholas Mantzaros. Corfu has produced internationally recognised composers such as Spiros Samaras (1861-1917), but probably the most famous Corfiot musical celebrity is Nicholas Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros (1795-1872), who composed the Greek national anthem as an accompaniment to the poem A Hymn to Freedom, written by the celebrated poet Dionysios Solomos. Mantzaros devoted much of his later life to teaching and, at times, to financing young Corfiot students. |
