Religion is of very great importance for the residents of Corfu, as it is for most Greeks, and churches and small chapels can be found everywhere all over the island. Corfu has nearly 800 churches and monasteries altogether! Even the tiniest village in Corfu has a church in its centre and these churches can sometimes…

With influences from Italy, France, Great Britain and mainland Greece, Corfu music is full of surprises. Walking through the narrow alleys – the ‘candounia’ – of Corfu Town, you may suddenly stumble across a spontaneous string quartet playing local traditional songs.

That my 18th birthday, graduation and the start of the new millennium were happening in the same year seemed more than random coincidence! My girlfriends and I had therefore decided we would spend our holiday on Corfu, the Greek island I had always hated when I was younger, when visits every summer meant time away from my friends. However, the summer break of the year 2000 changed my life.

In addition to making trips to the towns and beaches of Corfu, Greece, a visitor must get to know this island’s lush green countryside. Picturesque hamlets and calm, peaceful olive fields await discovery, as do the manners and customs of the inhabitants, a couple of which are pictured in the photo below, taken in southeast Corfu outside of Petriti.