The Spianada (, , "

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

") is a large square in the city of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is the largest square in Greece and is located in front of the Old Fortress of the city of Corfu. The Spianada is divided into two sections: the Upper Square (Pano Plateia) and the Lower Square (Kato Plateia). The Upper Square is adorned with architectural gems like the Maitland Monument, the Venetian fountain, the Music Pavilion or "Palko" and the monument commemorating the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece. The Lower Square is dominated by the cricket pitch.

History

The square's name derives from the Venetian word for "open flat area", during the four centuries of Venetian rule in the island of Corfu. Its final construction dates back to the temporary French occupation of the Ionian islands and Corfu during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

.CorfuIn.com
/ref> The "cricket court", a large park area, occupies a large section of the square. The love of the city inhabitants for cricket is of British origin, from the period of British domination (1814-1864). It is one of the most central and popular sites of the city and a tourist destination.

Gallery

File:Korfu`s arkaden - panoramio.jpg, Arcades of '' Liston'' File:Església de la Mare de Déu Mandrakina, Corfú.JPG, Panagia Mandrakina Church File:Maitland Monument - Spianada (March 2017).jpg, The Maitland Monument File:Corfu town houses.jpg, Houses at the square File:Korfu0064.JPG, A fountain File:20140418 corfu551.JPG, Philharmonic Society at the square

References

{{coord, 39.623, 19.925, type:landmark_region:GR, display=title Squares in Greece Buildings and structures in Corfu (city) Italianate architecture in Greece French rule in the Ionian Islands (1807–1814) Cricket in Greece

History

See also

Gallery

References