4 Must-Visit Corfu Museums
A crossroad of civilisations for thousands of years, the cultural and historic heritage of Corfu Island is a fusion of Venetians, Sicilians, British and French. Every civilisation that passed through the island left its mark, creating an interesting amalgam of diversity. The influences are apparent everywhere you look in Corfu from the buildings, monuments to the churches and castles.
Today we are going to walk you through Corfu’s inspiring past by looking at 4 of its must-visit, impressive museums.
The Archaeological Museum of Corfu is in fact one of the largest-sized museums found across the Ionian archipelago. The impressive exhibits include artefacts excavated from several sites on the island including Kassiopi, Garitsa, Paleopolis as well as Kanoni. Visitors of the museum marvel at bronze and marble statues, clay pottery, ruins of archaic temples as well as inspiring gold jewellery.
The most impressive artefact of the exhibition is an ancient pediment of the Greek Gorgona-Medussa Temple. The archaic temple was part of Artemis Temple and dates back to 585 BC. The 13 miniature statues representing the Greek goddess Artemis are also equally impressive to see. These miniature statues decorated the walls of Dionysus Temple.
The Sea Shell Museum of Corfu is one of the most visited museums on the island. Found in Benitses Village, the Sea Shell Museum provides insight on fish fossils and sea shells. The collection includes an extensive collection of shells of diverse shapes and colours as well as mummified sea animals such as sharks, fish and crabs. Visitors also marvel at the extensive variety of sea fossils exhibited at the Sea Shell Museum.
The Byzantine Museum of Antivouniotissa is in the Virgin Mary Antivouniotissa Church. Founded in 1984, the Byzantine Museum showcases an interesting collection of post-Byzantine icons dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. The collection of the museum also includes inspiring wall frescoes taken from various churches across the island as well as ancient manuscripts, gospels and ecclesiastical garments.
Casa Parlante Museum is found in the heart of Corfu Town near the famous Spianada Square. The Casa Parlante Museum first opened its doors to the public in 2014. The museum depicts the life of an aristocratic family in the 19th century. Stepping into the museum transports visitors back into history as they walk through the preserved 19th century house. Visitors marvel at authentic 19th century furniture, ornaments and garments as they listen to music in the background. The entire experience, from start to finish, is truly extraordinary!
There you have it culture vultures, the 4 most impressive museums found across Corfu Island.