Mug Shot — «Corfu - Liston»

From Corfu, Greece

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Mug Details #1121

Starbucks City Mug Corfu - Liston
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Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The municipality includes the island Corfu and the smaller islands Ereikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The principal city of the island and seat of the municipality is also named Corfu. Corfu is home to the Ionian University. The island is bound with the history of Greece from the beginning of Greek mythology. Its Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is related to two powerful water symbols: Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopus and river nymph Metope, and abducted her. Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: Korkyra, which gradually evolved to Kerkyra. Together, they had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named: Phaiakes. This term was transliterated via Latin to Phaeacians. The island's history is laden with battles and conquests. The legacy of these struggles is visible in the form of castles punctuating strategic locations across the island. Two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a Kastropolis by the Greek government. Corfu was long controlled by Venice, which repulsed several Turkish sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire along with the remaining islands of the United States of the Ionian Islands, and unification with modern Greece was concluded in 1864 under the Treaty of London. In 2007, the city's old city was designated for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Corfu is a very popular tourist destination. Up until the early 20th century, it was mainly visited by the European royals and elites, today it is also widely visited by middle class families. It is still popular with the global elite however, and in the island's northeast the homeowners include members of the Rothschild family and Russian oligarchs.

Corfu city is famous for its Italianate architecture, most notably the Liston - an arched colonnade lined with cafes on the edge of the Spianada. Liston was named after the fact that, when the island was run by aristocrats, there was a special List, and only people whose names were included on that List were allowed to walk there. Later on, common people were also allowed to walk there, but only on the opposite pavement. Liston was built by the French (1807-1814), on designs of the engineer Lesseps (father of the engineer who constructed the Suez canal), based on the model of the Rue de Rivoli buildings.

photo by lucky
edited by mobydick74

  Greece, Corfu, MIC

Karma: 9 Added by jockel 1 Comments

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Starbucks-hh   23 May 2016

Selling this mug (with SKU)
Please send your price proposal to:
solinohh@web.de