TerraKerkyra




The Town Hall Square








The Town Hall Square

Was the town's most important community meeting place during Venetian times. The building which today houses the Town Hall functioned as a meeting place, or Loggia, for the local nobility. It was built in the space of thirty years (1663 - 1691) using the best building material in existence, stone from Sinies. There the cream of society would meet and in 1720 it became the first lyrical theatre in the East. Borrowing the name of the adjacent Catholic Cathedral of Agios Iakovos, the Theatre San Giacomo entertained the Corfiots with impressive performances of Italian opera for two centuries. Then in 1903 the theatre was moved elsewhere , another floor was added to the building, and it was opened as the Town Hall. Its two main sides are decorated with stone masks and various historical engravings and symbols. The emblem of Corfu is visible above the main entrance and the bust of General Francesco Morosini is set in the wall on the east side, with his virtues and achievements engraved in Latin characters. The 17th century saw the construction of the Residence of the Roman Catholic Archbishop, as well as of the nearby Catholic Cathedral. This subsequently housed a court, and is now the home of the Bank of Greece.