Travelogue in Corfu - Greek Gastronomy Guide

If there is a tourist island in Greece, which for the most part keeps intact and very well utilized its natural, built and cultural environment and especially the so cheerful character of its inhabitants, surely this is the noblewoman Corfu.

The natural landscape with the shocking Olive groves, the city - the historic center of Corfu has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites - the countryside with picturesque villages, unique beaches, buildings and institutions, impressive churches, impregnable fortresses and majestic palaces, the street planning and architecture, the romantic cantons, the Saints and the people (aristocrats, bourgeois, peasants), literature and music (the 17 island philharmonic orchestras with their colorful costumes they play and give a joyful and festive tone to the weekends and holidays), the first University, they all form a diverse soul and lifeless potential that creates a paradoxical take-off atmosphere.

The history of Corfu

Corfu, the northernmost island of the Ionian Islands, had the good fortune, at a time when all of Greece was enslaved in the Ottoman Empire, to be under Venetian occupation. The two characteristics of Corfu, its fertile and beautiful nature and its uniquely safe port on the Italy-East route, were to determine its history and make it an apple of discord.

The history of Corfu a unique rosary with beads, as for many centuries many conquerors sought the domination of the area for military reasons, but in the process they were enchanted and "conquered" by the place and after settling left their cultural imprints.

The beauties of the island are first praised by Hostage in the "Odyssey" idyllicly describing the gardens of King Alcinous that Odysseus visited at the end of his adventurous return and shortly before arriving in Ithaca, while the Romans later used Corfu as a recreational destination.

In 1386 Corfu asked for the protection of Venice and thus began its period Venetian rule (1386-1797) which lasted 411 years, 11 months and 11 days.

For the Peaceful Republic of Venice, Corfu was one of the best fortified ports-cities of the Mediterranean as it was an important stop on the road to India, the famous Silk Road. Every year, merchant fleets transported spices, sugars, silks, perfumes and cotton to Venice from the ends of India, Persia and China, stopping in Corfu for supplies. The French in their short passage (1797-1799 and 1807-1814) built it Liston (1807), the beautiful colonnade reminiscent of the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, on the west side of the Spiniada, a combination of park and square, while conveying the liberal and democratic ideas of the French Revolution (Liberté, Fraternité, Egalité) and demons "to the people of Corfu.

Gastronomy of Corfu

Gastronomically, Corfu has one traditional cuisine with influences from all its "conquerors". The cuisine of the aristocracy, finally mixed with the cuisine of the countryside, Venetians, French, British and Russians, submitted their recipes and so now in Corfu, in most restaurants (we singled it out Lemon Garden and Rex) and in Taverns of (Βιοπορος, Ognistra, Tax, Marina) one can find local recipes that are not found in other parts of Greece.

Sofrito, pastitsada, savor, sycamore, tingola, figadelia, bianco, orange salad, are some of the common ones Corfiot dishes while creative chefs like Botrini at Etruscan and Aristelis Megoulas on Golden apple present their creative proposals, renewing the Corfiot cuisine.

Producers of Corfu

Η "Corfu produces" is a pioneering group of producers who put Corfu back in the field of agri-food sector development, developing mainly local products. Starring Spyros Kaloudis with Corfu beer, Christos Lavranos with Comeco (cold cuts, numbulo, meat), h Corfu distillery Mavromatis to Kumquat and follow, the Beekeeping Corfu Vasilakis, the Ktima Theotoki, the Grammenou Estate against Pasta Pasta Corfu.