Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 February 1916 — BEAUTIFUL CORFU [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BEAUTIFUL CORFU

ONLY a little over a decade ago the beautiful and picturesque Elizabeth, empress of Austria, built upon that lovely Island, Corfu, the Villa Achillelon. And here just to the west of northern Greece, that restless royal soul was wont to “steal awhile away" from the irksome royal etiquette of the Austrian court and “invite her soul.” Then a wretched anarchist shot her in Switzer’and and presently the kaiser acquired the delightful Villa Achillelon as a southern residence. Now that the allies, who have occupied Corfu, have decided to there rehabilitate the Servian army the charming littlq Island Is again in the public eye, writes F. Maude Smith. If you love color, go to Corfu. Corfu, like all Greece, is simply bathed in light. Under certain conditions the mountains are lilac, deepening to rose and crimson, the fields violet, with salmon pink, purple, ochre and cinnamon, all melting into each other. Over all is "a sky miraculously blue." —Though separated only by a strait from Greece visitors usually come across the Adriatic from Brindisi, embarking in the evening and seeing the island next morning. Others come down from Flume and Trieste. One may simply stop as long as the ship is discharging and taking on cargo, .galloping over a part of the ground, or one may “stay over,” which is, of course, the better plan. In fact, most of us, after once getting ashore at these lovely eastern places vow never to learn, thanks to the confusing noise and Insolence of the boatmen who convey passengers and luggage ashore. The Island and the City.

Corfu (Kerkyra) is the capital of its namesake island. Very irregularly shaped it covers 277 square miles and contains something like 115,000 inhabitants, over 25,000 of. this population being in the city of Corfu and its suburbs. The safe and spacious harbor on the east side, next Greece, is lively with shipping (they export olive oil and a few years ago imported chiefly Russian grain and English manufactures). There are ruined fortifications, of course, the Fortezza Vecchia to the east of the town and the Fortezza Nuova to the northwest. Originally the town was inclosed by a wall, so the streets are very narrow and the stone houses four and five stories in height. March, April and May are the ideal times in which to visit this Interesting island. October and the first half of November are also very pleasant, but the summer is very hot and the winter is noted for sudden changes of temperature andL heavy rains. In the Odyssey one comes upon Corfu under the rule of Alkinoos, the ancients identifying it with the Phaeacian island of Scheria. The Corinthians in 734 B. C. established a colony here and the infant so flourished as to menace mamma. In 665 B. C. they fought a battle, the now grown-up offspring (called Corcyra) being victorious. A shrewd colony, she did not share in the Persian wars because she was waiting to throw in her lot with the victors. - Indeed, it has been a case of war, war, war, with Corfu. In 229 B. C. the Romans took possession, but on the partition of the Byzantine empire by the Crusaders in 1205 A. D. it fell to the share of the Venetians, who were replaced by the kings of Naples from 1267 to 1380. The Venetians took it again in the fourteenth century. The Turks made two tries for it (1537 and 1716) and the French occupied it from 1807 to 1814, while from 1815 to 1863 it formed with the other lonian islands a Heptanesos (sevenisland state) under England's 1 protection. In 1858 Gladstone was sent as extraordinary commissioner to consider the grievances of the people. In 1863 the English yielded to the desires of the islanders and consented to their incorporation in the kingdom of Greece. Its Beautiful Gardens. ana (custom house) the visitor may stroll eastward to the royal palace (built by the English) and to the Splanata (esplanade) that is from the new fortifications to the old ones. Continuing south we come upon the strada marina, where the sea and the moon-

light are enjoyed to wonderful advantage. . " And the gardens! In them flourish the olive, cypress, orange, lemon, fig, magnolia, palm, banana, eucalyptus, aloe and papyrus. But the olive is seen in greatest profusion in the center of the island, 4,000,000 trees being in the groves. April sees them In bloom, while tha. fruit ripens from December to March. Unfortunately Corfu does not produce choice oil owing to the primitive appliances for expressing and clearing it. The inhabitants show more culture than is usual in Greece. This is said to be due to the Venetian and English domination of Corfu. Good roads lead to nearly all parts of the island. Some seven miles south of Corfu is * the Villa Achillelon, which, a few years ago, was to be seen providing one was armed with a permesso from the Austrian consul. The most interesting part of its varied architecture is the colonnade to the east with its fine frescoes. The large park descends to the sea in terraces, the fishing village of Benlzze with the remain g of a Roman villa being below. Among the works of art is a Dying Achilles j by Herter and (In a small temple) a seated marble statue of Heine by the Danish sculptor Hasselries. Drives to the westward are embowered with medlar and apricot trees and romantic cypresses. A drive to the north and west of the city of Corfu (nearly crossing the long, narrow island) discloses red cliffs on the west coast honeycombed with caves. On top of’ the rocky height there’s a wonderful view—behind the city of Corfu and the picturesque east coast, while far to the northwest are the Othonlan islands, one of which Is thought to be the isle of Calypso. There is also a fantastically shaped rock resembling a sailing ship which was once thought to have been actually the vessel of Ulysses. Real climbers are content with nothing less than an ascent of Monte S. Salvatore, the island’s highest peak. This view embraces the entire island, the Othonian Isles, the mainland of Greece to the east, the island of Cephalonia to the south and to the west the - sea.

The Villa Achillsion.