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Messonghi 49080 - Corfu Island (Kerkyra) - Greece
Tel: +30-2661075478  Mob: +30-6944596435 (Mr Botsis Spyros)
Email: info@georgina-apartments.gr

Welcome to CORFU GREECE & to GEORGINA holiday apartments
Quiet and relaxing accommodation located in sunny Messonghi beach resort

PONTIKONISSI - MOUSE ISLAND
At the tip of the Kanoni peninsula a footpath descends to the Vlacherna Monastery, a tiny island linked to the shore by a causeway. The causeway is the mooring point for a number of small boats which will take you to Mouse Island (Pontikonissi) where you can visit the Byzantine Church of Pantokrator. The combined picture of Kanoni, Vlacherna and Pontikonissi has become the trademark of the whole island, and has  been photographed, perhaps , by just about. every camera in the world. Another causeway, for walkers or cyclists, links Kanoni with Perama on the opposite shore
ACHILLION PALACE
Achillion was built from 1888 to 1891 by the Italian architect Kardilo on behalf of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria. It is situated near the village of Gastouri, where, in former times the mansion of the philosopher Petros Armenis Vrailas stood. The construction was built in the architectural style of Pompeii, although it includes elements of the Ionic, Roman and Aeolic traditions. The castle was called "Achillion" in honour of Achilles, whom the Empress admired her death in 1898, Achillion was not inhabited for nine years,
until its purchase by the Emperor of Germany Vilhelm II, in 1907. The Kaiser made several alterations inside and outside the palace. He removed the two statues of Achilles, built a building, which he named the House of the Knights, in order to house his battalion, and he rearranged the gardens. During the World Wars, the palace was used as a hospital and headquarters. After World War II, Achillion became a public estate. Inside the palace, one can admire beautiful paintings by Italian and Austrian painters, the most impressive being the paintings of Aggelos Gialinas, a painter from Corfu. The most remarkable mural is the fresco of the reception chamber showing Achilles dragging the dead body of Hector in front of the Trojan walls. In the chambers, one can admire the personal belongings of Elisabeth and Vilhelm B', furniture, jewels etc. There are also exhibits of statues representing heroes from ancient Greek history and mythology, as well as portraits and pots. The decoration of the Catholic chapel housed in the palace is also of striking beauty. Scattered between the beautifully decorated gardens and the fountains stand the beautiful statues of the Nine Muses and ancient Greek philosophers, as well as, a large statue of Achilles, created in 1909 by the German sculptor Goetz, ordered by Vilhelm B'. The most impressive of all is the statue of "Achilles dying" created by the German sculptor Earnest Gustav Herter. Another building in Achillion was used to house the carriage drivers, the carriages and the horses

THE CHURCH OF SAINT SPYRIDON
The church of Agios Spyridonas is dedicated to the patron saint of the Corfu. It was built in 1589, in order to replace the older church of Sorokos which was demolished because of the construction of the walls of the town. Saint Spyridonas took part in the Ecumenical Synod A', which took place in Nice (325 AD). On the exterior of the church there is a tall, castellated bell-tower with a clock which resembles the one of the church of Agios Georgios in Venice. Inside the church there is a temple which the architect M. Mawers made of Kararas and Paros in marble. The painter Spyros Prosalentis made the icons on the temple of the church. The most valuable treasure of the church is the golden shrine made in Venice in which Saint Spyridonas's remains are kept.
At first these remains were kept in Constantinople, but after its fall, they were transferred to the island of CORFU GREECE. The wonderful icons on the dome have golden frames, they are divided into 17 pieces, and they represent, among other things, the life of Saint Spyridonas. The icons were first made by the hagiographer Panagiotis Doxaras in 1727, but because of their decay from moisture, they were replaced by Nikolaos Aspiotis's copies in 1850-1870. On December 12th, there is a feast in honour of the saint. The litanies of Agios Spyridonas are also famous, as they have been performed here since the Venetian years, and they are connected with the history of the island

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Messonghi 49080 - Corfu Island (Kerkyra) - Greece
Tel: +30-2661075478  Mob: +30-6944596435 (Mr Botsis Spyros)
Email: info@georgina-apartments.gr