Corfu Walking Tour

A Corfu walking tour means a stroll on foot through the old town of Corfu, an island of the Ionian Sea. It is one of the Greece tours on this site. The notes below follow the stroll through the things a city walk brings up: tourist attractions, the esplanade, cricket, neoclassical architecture, Venetian Gothic, the window shutter, wrought iron, the arcade, the bandstand and the obelisk, then four town terms. Each term is explained in plain words, and the facts come from reference articles.

What does a Corfu walking tour mean?

A Corfu walking tour means a stroll on foot through the old town of Corfu. Corfu is an island of the Ionian Sea. A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit for its natural or cultural value.

Beaches, national parks, mountains, deserts and forests are examples of traditional tourist attractions. Forts, castles, libraries, former prisons, skyscrapers and bridges are cultural tourist attractions. A national park is a protected area of land. For a Corfu walking tour, a fort is a strong building for defence. A forest is land covered with trees.

Ancient temples, monuments, zoos, aquaria, museums and art galleries can be cultural attractions. Theme parks, living history museums and historic trains are listed among cultural attractions. An aquarium is a place where water animals are kept for people to see. On a Corfu walking tour, a theme park is a park of rides.

Factory tours and industrial heritage are the focus of industrial tourism, a cultural niche. Sports events such as a football game, Formula 1 race or sailing regatta can attract tourists. A niche is a small special part of a wider field. A regatta is a race between boats.

Tourist attractions can contribute to government revenues through taxes and direct levies. Tourist attractions can support conservation of habitats, species and historic sites. Conservation means protecting nature and old places from harm. A habitat is the natural home of a plant or animal. Species means a kind of living thing.

• Traps: Places that overprice their goods are commonly known as tourist traps.
• Grand Tour: Modern tourism can be traced to the Grand Tour, a traditional trip around Europe.
• Mount Tai: In ancient China, nobles sometimes visited the mountain called Mount Tai.

A tourist attraction gives a Corfu walking tour its meaning: a place of interest worth the walk. The next sections look at the walk through its parts, from the esplanade to the obelisk. Each term gets a plain-word meaning.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does the esplanade add?

A Corfu walking tour brings up the esplanade. Historically, esplanades were open ground outside fortress or city walls. The open ground gave the fortress’s guns clear fields of fire. In modern use, the open space can be paved as a pedestrian walk.

Sea-front esplanades let walkers keep off the sand whatever the state of the tide. A tide is the sea rising and falling. A rampart is a raised bank or wall for defence. A fortification is a wall or fort built for defence. A viewpoint is a spot for looking far.

Artificial street lighting in the 19th century made evening use of promenades safe. Vienna’s Ringstrasse is given as one example of these promenades. On a Corfu walking tour, a promenade is a public path for walking. The name Ringstrasse means ring street in German. Artificial means made by people.

In Victorian times, esplanades grew popular as visiting seaside resorts was in fashion. Couples and families walked there to be seen and considered part of society. A seaside resort is a town made for holiday stays beside the sea. For a Corfu walking tour, fashion means what is popular at a time.

Beach promenades in Cannes, Nice and Trieste still play a central role in city life. People sometimes use esplanade and promenade as interchangeable terms. Interchangeable means able to swap places. Cannes and Nice are French seaside cities. On a Corfu walking tour, a port city is a town that grew beside a harbour.

• Ramparts: In the 19th century, removed city fortifications made promenade paths possible on former ramparts.
• Old defences: Hills, viewpoints, ditches, waterways and lakes from old fortifications now form part of these promenades.
• United States: In the United States, esplanade also means a median strip dividing a roadway or boulevard.

The esplanade adds an open walking ground to a Corfu walking tour, from fortress edge to sea front. Its story runs from guns to strollers. The next section turns from the walk to a game. Sea front means the shore line of a town.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does cricket bring?

A Corfu walking tour brings up cricket, a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players. The central pitch measures 22 yards, with a wicket at each end. Each wicket has two small sticks called bails, balanced on three stumps.

The ball is a hard leather spheroid with a circumference of nine inches. The earliest definite reference to cricket comes from a Guildford court case in January 1597. Cricket is believed to have begun as a children’s game in south-eastern England. A spheroid is a shape like a ball.

The game spread worldwide along with the expansion of the British Empire. The British Empire was the group of lands once ruled from Britain. Worldwide means across the whole world. Expansion means growth in size. A Corfu walking tour can recall that games travel with people. A team is a group that plays together.

England against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1876–77 is recognised as the first-ever Test. A Test is a long international match. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is a large sports ground in Australia. Recognised means accepted as true. A series is a set of matches between the same teams.

England used bodyline tactics in the 1932–33 Ashes series. Test cricket is limited to teams from the twelve full member countries of the ICC. For a Corfu walking tour, a tactic is a plan made to win. The ICC is the International Cricket Council. Member countries are nations that belong to a group.

• Ashes: The rivalry between England and Australia gave rise to The Ashes in 1882.
• First match: The first international match, in New York in 1844, was between the United States and Canada.
• Twenty20: Twenty20 is a form of cricket that gives each team one innings of 20 overs.

Cricket adds a famous game to a Corfu walking tour as a topic of world history. It grew from a children’s game into matches between nations. The next section turns from the game to a style of building.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does neoclassical architecture add?

A Corfu walking tour brings up neoclassical architecture. It began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It aimed to strip away Late Baroque excesses and return to a purer classical style. Baroque means a rich, ornate style of building.

Archaeology and published records of surviving classical buildings were crucial to its emergence. In form, neoclassical architecture stresses the wall over chiaroscuro and keeps each part’s identity separate. The shift to neoclassical architecture is conventionally dated to the 1750s. Chiaroscuro means the play of light and shade. Classical means from ancient Greece and Rome.

In England, Sir William Hamilton’s excavations at Pompeii were pivotal to the shift. Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s buildings, especially the Altes Museum in Berlin, exemplify the style. Pivotal means very important. Exemplify means to show by example. Pompeii is an ancient Roman town. For a Corfu walking tour, an excavation is a careful dig.

Benjamin Henry Latrobe designed the Baltimore Basilica in 1806, counted among the finest neoclassical buildings. William Wilkins’s winning design for Downing College announced the Greek style as the dominant idiom. A basilica is a large church. An idiom here means a way of designing. Dominant means strongest.

Saint Petersburg, Athens, Berlin and Munich were turned into museums of Greek Revival architecture. Greek Revival is a style that copies ancient Greek buildings. Athens is the capital of Greece. For a Corfu walking tour, a museum is a building that stores and displays old objects. Munich is a city in Germany.

• Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson built Monticello, the Virginia State Capitol and the University of Virginia.
• Russia: Catherine the Great adopted the style, and architect Vallin de la Mothe built the Old Hermitage.
• Netherlands: In the Netherlands, neoclassicism is known for symmetry, elegant proportions, columns and decorative pediments.

Neoclassical architecture adds a revived Greek and Roman look to a Corfu walking tour as an idea. It spread from Italy and France to Russia and America. The next section turns from classical order to pointed arches. Each idea starts with ancient models.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does Venetian Gothic bring?

A Corfu walking tour brings up Venetian Gothic, a form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice. Unusually for medieval architecture, the style is mainly found in secular buildings. Secular means not tied to a church. Gothic means a style with pointed arches.

The best-known examples are the Doge’s Palace and the Ca’ d’Oro. Both examples have loggias of closely spaced small columns. Both also have heavy tracery with quatrefoil openings above. A loggia is a covered gallery open on one side. Tracery is the stone pattern in a window. Quatrefoil means shaped like a four-leaf clover.

The ogee arch, capped with relief ornament, is one of its marks. An ogee arch is an arch with an S-shaped curve on each side. Relief ornament is carved decoration raised above a flat surface. A trait is a feature that marks something. Capped means topped. Ornament means decoration.

The style was revived in the 19th century, inspired by John Ruskin’s writings. Venice is built on alluvial mud, left by flowing water. Its buildings rest on timber piles. A pile is a post driven into the ground. For a Corfu walking tour, a revival is a fresh use of an older style.

Marmorino stucco, made from ground limestone, brick and terracotta, finished interior walls. The Doge’s Palace was rebuilt after two fires, in recognizably Gothic form. Stucco is a plaster used to coat walls. Terracotta is baked clay. On a Corfu walking tour, rebuilt means built again. A fire is a blaze that destroys buildings.

• Origin: The style is thought to have begun no earlier than the 13th century.
• Peak: The style dominated the 14th century and continued into the second half of the 15th.
• Stone: Grander facades were faced with Istrian stone, a fine limestone.

Venetian Gothic adds a Venice-born style to a Corfu walking tour as a topic. Pointed arches, loggias and tracery mark its look. Each mark is a clue to the age of a building. The next section turns from stone to wood.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does the window shutter add?

A Corfu walking tour brings up the window shutter. The term window shutter covers both interior shutters and exterior shutters of a window. Shutters serve purposes including sunlight control, privacy, security, weather protection and aesthetics. Aesthetics means how a thing looks.

A window shutter frame can have vertical stiles and top, centre and bottom rails. Louvers, solid panels, fabric and glass can be set within the shutter frame. A tilt bar or rod controls the position of operable louvers. A stile is an upright bar of a frame, and a rail is a crosswise bar.

On certain building styles, shutters are common over doors as well as windows. Exterior shutters were originally built for light control, privacy, security and weather protection. Exterior means on the outside. Interior means on the inside. On a Corfu walking tour, a shutter is a hinged or sliding cover.

Interior shutters can be divided into narrow units hinged accordion-style. Plantation shutters can have just two shutters per window and wide louver blades. Hinged means joined so that a part can swing. Accordion-style means folding in pleats. Pleats are folds. Plantation here is only a name for a style of shutter.

Café-type shutters cover only the lower portion of a window. A café is a small place for drinks and snacks. Portion means part. Lower means near the bottom. Snacks are small bites of food. On a Corfu walking tour, a window is a gap in a wall that lets daylight in.

• Wood: Interior shutters can be built from wood or from synthetic materials.
• Composite: Composite shutters offer advantages over wood, such as resistance to twisting, splitting and rotting.
• Storm: Hurricane or storm shutters protect windows and doors from high winds, rain and flying objects.

The window shutter adds a simple cover to a Corfu walking tour, with a frame, rails and louvers. It controls light, privacy and weather. Its parts have plain names. The next section turns from wood to worked metal.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does wrought iron bring?

A Corfu walking tour brings up wrought iron. Wrought iron holds under 0.05% carbon, while cast iron holds 2.1% to 4.5%. Cast iron is too brittle to bend, while wrought iron is highly malleable and easy to bend.

Slag inclusions give wrought iron a wood-like grain that shows when it is etched, rusted or bent. Wrought iron got its name from being hammered or rolled while hot enough to expel molten slag. Slag is the waste left when metal is smelted. Malleable means easy to shape. Etched means cut by acid.

Henry Cort invented the puddling furnace in 1784. In a puddling furnace the metal does not touch the fuel, so it stays uncontaminated. Molten pig iron was stirred by hand, exposing it to air that removed its carbon. A furnace is a very hot oven for melting metal. Molten means melted by heat.

Demand for wrought iron peaked in the 1860s, driven by ironclad warships and railways. Before mild steel, rivets, nails, chains, rails, horseshoes and handrails were made of wrought iron. An ironclad is a warship covered with iron plates. For a Corfu walking tour, a rivet is a metal pin that joins parts.

Products called wrought iron, such as gates, can be made of mild steel. A gate is a hinged barrier across an opening. Mild steel is steel with little carbon. On a Corfu walking tour, a name can say more about looks than about metal. Looks means how a thing appears.

• Steel: The Bessemer and Siemens–Martin processes made steel cheap, so wrought iron use fell.
• Today: Wrought iron is no longer produced on a commercial scale.
• Earlier: Before effective steelmaking, wrought iron was the commonest form of malleable iron.

Wrought iron adds an old craft metal to a Corfu walking tour, from furnace to gate. Its grain, its name and its decline all tell a story. The next section turns from metal to a row of arches.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does the arcade add?

A Corfu walking tour brings up the arcade. An arcade is a succession of contiguous arches, each supported by columns or piers. Exterior arcades were designed to give pedestrians a sheltered walkway. A blind arcade places arcading against a solid wall.

Arcades go back at least to the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greek architecture. The Romans used arcades a great deal, including at the base of the Colosseum. Medieval open arcades housed shops or stalls, in the arcaded space or the wall behind. A pier is a thick post that holds an arch. Contiguous means touching.

The word arcade came to mean a group of shops in a single building, whatever its form. A form here means a shape. For a Corfu walking tour, a shop is a room or building that sells goods. Whatever its form means in any shape. A mall is a large building of shops.

The Palais-Royal in Paris, opened in 1784, is regarded as the earliest grand shopping arcade. Oxford’s Covered Market was officially opened on 1 November 1774. Palais-Royal is a palace and garden complex in Paris. A covered market is a market under one roof. Officially means by formal act.

The Passage du Caire, created in 1798, was a tribute to the French campaign in Egypt and Syria. A tribute is a sign of respect. A campaign is a planned military effort. On a Corfu walking tour, Egypt and Syria are lands of the eastern Mediterranean.

• Merchants: Gostiny Dvor in St Petersburg translates from Russian as Merchants’ Arcade.
• Malls: Shopping arcades were the precursor of the modern shopping mall.
• Shelter: Arcades offered shoppers an enclosed space away from the noisy, dirty streets.

The arcade adds a row of arches to a Corfu walking tour, from Greek roots to shopping streets. Its parts are piers, columns and arches. Each part has a plain name. The next section turns from covered walks to open music.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does the bandstand bring?

A Corfu walking tour brings up the bandstand. A bandstand is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier or indoor space. A bandstand is designed to hold musical bands performing concerts. Polygonal means having straight sides.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, London and Paris pleasure gardens had bandstands for dining guests. The first bandstands in Britain were built in 1861 at the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, South Kensington. A pleasure garden is a public garden for fun and music. Acoustic means about sound. A park is a public green space.

During World War II, iron fittings from a number of bandstands were taken to make weapons and artillery. From 1979 to 2001, more than half of 438 historic-park bandstands were demolished, vandalized or disused. Artillery means large guns. Demolished means torn down. Disused means no longer in use. Vandalized means damaged on purpose.

Since 2008, the Bandstand Marathon has seen UK bandstands used for free live concerts. After the Civil War, gazebo bandstands appeared in United States towns of every size to house cornet bands. A gazebo is a small garden building with open sides. On a Corfu walking tour, a marathon means a long event.

In 1913, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a freestanding bandshell with a cantilever roof and no side posts. Herne Bay in Kent has a fully enclosed bandstand with a stage. A bandshell is a curved shell that sends sound toward listeners. On a Corfu walking tour, a cantilever roof is held up at one side only.

• Shelter: Outdoors, a bandstand gives shelter from changeable weather and serves acoustic needs.
• Hollywood Bowl: Lloyd Wright’s 1928 Hollywood Bowl shell was a prototype for the streamlined concrete bandshell of the 1930s.
• Upkeep: Continuous use as a performance venue is a good incentive to keep bandstands maintained.

The bandstand adds a place for music to a Corfu walking tour, from garden stages to concrete shells. Its story runs from pleasure gardens to wartime scrap. The next section turns from music to a tall stone shaft.

On a Corfu walking tour, what does the obelisk add?

A Corfu walking tour brings up the obelisk, a tapered, four-sided stone monument. An obelisk has a pyramidal top. The ancient Egyptians built the first obelisks and called them tekhenu. A monument is a structure made to honour a person or event.

Emperor Caligula brought the Vatican obelisk to Rome in 37 CE. Moving it on rollers began on 30 April 1586 and ended in the fifth month. CE means common era. A crane is a machine that lifts heavy loads. On a Corfu walking tour, rollers are round logs that carry a load.

The Lateran Obelisk in Rome is 32.2 metres tall, the tallest standing Egyptian obelisk. The Luxor Obelisk, 23 metres tall, stands at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Egyptian means from ancient Egypt. Place de la Concorde is a large square in Paris. Metres are the units used for these heights.

On Via della Conciliazione in Rome, obelisks serve as lampposts. The British Museum holds four Assyrian obelisks. Assyrian means from the ancient land of Assyria. A lamppost is a post that carries a street lamp. Surveying means measuring land. The British Museum is a large museum in London.

The pair of Cleopatra’s Needles stand in London and New York City, each 21 metres tall. A pair is two things of one kind. A needle here means a tall thin stone shaft. On a Corfu walking tour, New York City means the large city in the United States.

• Pairs: Egyptians placed obelisks in pairs at the entrances of their temples.
• Moving: The move needed nearly 1000 men, 140 carthorses and 47 cranes.
• Surveying: Modern obelisks have also served as boundary markers in surveying.

The obelisk adds an Egyptian stone shaft to a Corfu walking tour, from temple gates to city squares. It travelled to Rome, London, New York and Paris. Each shaft carries its own history. The next section turns from stone to the questions people ask.

Which questions come up before a Corfu walking tour starts?

A Corfu walking tour prompts four simple questions about towns. A city gate lets people into a walled town, and a weather vane shows the wind. A pergola is a roof of climbing plants. A historic district is a protected old area.

On a Corfu walking tour, which opening lets people into a walled town?

A city gate is a gate set within a city wall. City gates gave a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city. A city gate is a type of fortified gateway. Fortified means made strong against attack.

Which turning sign shows the wind behind a Corfu walking tour?

A weather vane is a type of anemoscope used for showing the direction of the wind. The word vane comes from the Old English word fana, meaning flag. The oldest known textual references to weather vanes date from 1800-1600 BCE Babylon. An anemoscope is an instrument that shows wind direction.

Which roof of climbing plants stands behind a Corfu walking tour?

A pergola is used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area. A pergola has vertical posts or pillars that support crossbeams and an open lattice. The word pergola comes from the Late Latin pergula, which means a projecting eave.

Which area is kept for its past behind a Corfu walking tour?

A historic district is a section of a city with older buildings valued for historical or architectural reasons. Historic districts can receive legal protection from certain types of development. Historic districts can be parts or all of small towns. Architectural means about the design of buildings.