The Old Town Photo

Photographer’s Note

The first impression you get when you're approching the island is that you must be in Italy!The whole scenery is totally different than any other place in Greece!Corfu lies off the coast of Sarande, Albania, from which it is separated by straits varying in breadth from 3 to 23 km (2 to 15 mi), including one near ancient Butrint and a longer one west of Thesprotia. The island is part of the Corfu Prefecture, and includes twelve of the sixteen municipalities or communes in the prefecture and over 96 percent of its population (2001 census). The four excluded municipalities are Ereikoussa, Mathraki, Othonoi, and Paxoi, which are all separate islands.

The principal town (pop. 28,185) of the island is also named Corfu, or Kérkyra in Greek, as is its municipality (pop. 39,487). Corfu is home to the Ionian University.

The island is steeped in history and perennially connected to the history of Greece from the beginning of Greek mythology. Its Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is connected 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, as was the custom among gods of the era's myths – Zeus himself was a serial offender. Poseidon brought her to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: Korkyra, which gradually evolved to Kerkyra (Doric). Together, they had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named: Phaiakes, which was then transliterated via Latin to Phaeacians. The island's history is laden with battles and conquests, indicative of Corfu's turbulent position in a historical vortex lasting until the modern period, at which time unification with modern Greece from 1864 made the island's history one with that of the mainland, with no further foreign intervention. 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 (Castle city) by the Greek Government. In 2007, the city's old town was named on the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a recommendation by ICOMOS.The town of Corfu stands on the broad part of a peninsula, whose termination in the Venetian citadel (Greek: Παλαιό Φρούριο) is cut off from it by an artificial fosse formed in a natural gully, with a salt-water ditch at the bottom, that serves also as a kind of marina. The old city, having grown up within fortifications, where every metre of ground was precious, is a labyrinth of narrow streets paved with cobblestones, sometimes tortuous but colourful and clean. These streets are known as "kantounia" (Greek: καντούνια), and the older amongst them sometimes follow the gentle irregularities of the ground; while many are too narrow for vehicular traffic. A promenade rises by the seashore towards the bay of Garitsa (Γαρίτσα), together with an esplanade between the town and the citadel known as "Liston" (Greek: Λιστόν), where restaurants and bistros abound.

Sne011, besnard, PaulVDV, Vanessa132, Floydian, derek3755, lilimih33, syd1946, azaf1, Longroute, steliosk, portmanndominic, Cretense, stelli, doubay, danos, bostankorkulugu, PeTRo_S, chrkont has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Sne011 (3103) 2008-06-21 2:25

Hi Panagiotis!

Beautiful Kerkyra! I love these rooftops. It really is different from some other Greek places I saw. I love this old town, wish I could be back there :)

Cheers

Sneza

besnard (31292) 2008-06-21 2:31

Bonjour Panagiotis
Une belle vue plongeante sur la multitude de toits couverts de tuiles. Les couleurs sont chaudes et font penser aux vacances.
Merci pour le partage et bon week-end.
Nicole

PaulVDV (5447) 2008-06-21 2:39

Hello Panagiotis,
I like this composition very well. Nice with the sea and the mainland on the background.
The colours of the roofs and the church tower add to the beauty of this picture.
Regards, Paul

mesutilgim (37533) 2008-06-21 2:58

Hi Panagiotis,
Very nice scene, very well captured. Good pov and amazing warm colors. Very good notes as well. The tiles on the roofs is typical Aegean. Still far better than of todays simple and tasteless plastic covered roofs.
TFS and have a nice weekend
Best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Vanessa132 (1840) 2008-06-21 3:02

Hi Panagiotis,
nice POV!
Great warm colors and sharpness on the roofs.
Well done and TFS
Vanessa

testmaniac (12334) 2008-06-21 3:16

Hi Panagiotis, nice urban landscape! Corfu is cool place.

TFS

Phil

jonathan_hart (22737) 2008-06-21 3:36

excellent POV, the view on the roofs is great with excellent light and warm colours,
it's well framed with the tower off centered
regards
jo

TGULUMSER (12528) 2008-06-21 5:11

Hello Panagiotis,
I think the roofs tell so much about the town they belong. Here the architecture is old but very nice, very Aegean. The view of the sea completed the composition,
Best regards,
Tulay

delkoo (34990) 2008-06-21 6:22

hi panagiotis
That must have been a wonderful trip and you got a most gorgeous shot. The sharpness of it is so crisp that I can see even the texture oft he roofs very well.

ta leme
didier

Floydian (30970) 2008-06-21 7:03

Hi Panagiotis,
A strong composed but most all exposed photo with deep colours. Heavy contrast, deep saturation, i like to see that in such images. The thumbnail was allready impressive, but the large version shows it all...great work..!!!
Regards, Henk

ifanik (20670) 2008-06-21 7:30

Ayto poy einai yperoxo sth foto soy ayth file einai ta xrwmata
Apisteyta omorfos syndyasmos me zesta omorfa xrwmata
Bebaia bohthaei kai to fws
Poly kalh doyleia
Xairetw
Nikos

derek3755 (2341) 2008-06-21 8:31

Hi Panagiotis

beautiful composition with lovely light and colours. TFS.

Regards
Derek

lilimih33 (9874) 2008-06-21 9:28

Hello Panagiotis!
Great gold light and colours in your picture!
Beautiful panorama and good detail!
Best regards!
Lili

stamatis (2410) 2008-06-21 11:47

geia sou Panagiwth
panemorfh fwto cartpostal
panemorfa xrwmata kai diaygeia
filika Stamatis

dta (6476) 2008-06-21 13:57

Hello Panagiotis ,
Wonderful view on this beutiful village . Fantastic colors and an escellent framing to discover allthese till roofs and thos superb chuch tower .
Congratulations
Denis

coco (28266) 2008-06-21 14:51

Kalispera Panagiotis.

Wonderful landscape and also very well done with your lens.
The deep and the composition are good... and the place too.

Efarixto kai kalinixta.

syd1946 (17995) 2008-06-21 16:17

Γεια σου Παναγιώτη,
Δεν εχω λογια για να περιγραψω την φωτογραφια σου και την αρχιτεκτονικη της πολης...Ειμαι και λιγο προκατελημενος με την Κερκυρα...
Απλα υπεροχη!

σε χαιρετω φιλε μου,
Θωμάς

azaf1 (15615) 2008-06-21 23:08

Kalimera Panagioti. Mou aresei to sfikto afto kadrarisma gemato me spitia san cartoon kai h iperoxi lourida ble apo pano. To kokkino sto kampanario dinei mia omorfi pinelia sto thema kai ta xromata omorfa koresmena
Nasai kala
Argiris

manada (6237) 2008-06-22 0:01

Geia sou Panos kalimera
Fantastic village view with pleasant saturation of colors.
Nice zoomed, the stripe of sea in the upper part is ok.
Se xaireto
Freddy

PixelTerror (87137) 2008-06-22 2:04

HI Panagiotis
A nice and very mediterranean maze of rooves under the warm sun, the framing is good to place the belltower at the end of the reading and give it most importance in the composition.
Have a nice sunday JY

Longroute (10035) 2008-06-22 2:50

Wonderful cityscape, one of the best picture of Corfù I have seen, really thanks for posting,
Compliments,
Donato

steliosk (4784) 2008-06-22 8:29

Geia sou Panagiwth
Ekxosh perigrafh, kalozygismenh, isws to WB na einai liiiiiigo zestotero gia to gousto mou, alla mh dineis shmasia, einai entelws ypokeimeniko auto pou lew.

Useful note,
Great job!

Regards
Stelios

portmanndominic (2390) 2008-06-23 4:21

Panagiotis geia sou

de superbes couleurs bien contrastés avec de petites taches de rouge ou de bleu un POV particulirement bien choisi avec une de note tres utile en plus
Cordialement
Dominic

albertz (2310) 2008-06-24 8:11

I like the placement of the tower and the contrast of red here, it stands out perfectly against the roofs. The warm colors of the fg and the backdrop of faded mountains is a perfect. I like it.

Cretense (57430) 2008-06-24 9:35

Geia sou Panagioti!

Exairetiki fotografia, apsogi texnika, den to syzito, katapliktiko sfixto kadro, sou dinei pragmatika tin aisthisi tis panemorfis palias polis, exairetiki xrisi tou zoom gia na mikrineis to vathos kai tin prooptiki kai na fereis tis steges kai ta spitia toso konta to ena sto allo. Sygxaritiria!

Iraklis

sacavem (8635) 2008-06-24 9:53

Olá Panagiotis,

Very beautiful landscape from Kerkyra with lovely colours. Amazing tones, very good sharpness and very well framed.
TFS and greetings,
Filipe

stelli (2985) 2008-06-25 0:41

Absolutely beautiful as it is the island per se!! Maybe Italy looks like Kerkyra and not the other way around!!! :) You have depicted the town beauty using its dominant colors, sandy-beige and blue. Thank you for sharing! ΦΙΛΙΚΑ Στέλλα

athanvas (2353) 2008-06-26 0:54

Geia sou Panagioti
poly wraia optikh gwnia lhpshs fantastika xrwmata kai poly kalh oxitita
Sygcharitiria
Vasilis

doubay (5051) 2008-06-26 3:48

Gia su Panagioti!
Endiposiaki fotografia tis panemorfis palias Kerkiras. Mu aresun poli i pikni diamorfosi tu kadru ke ta chromata.
Chereto
Andreas

savask (1819) 2008-06-28 3:09

amazing clarity and excellent contrast with the blue sky. Well done

danos (33624) 2008-06-30 3:11

Παναγιώτη καλημέρα,
πολύ καλή και πανοραμική καταγραφή της παλιάς πόλης της Κέρκυρας με εξαιρετικά ζεστά απογευματινά χρώματα και φως.Το καμπαναρίο με το κατακόκκινο χρώμα τραβάει αμέσως το βλέμα.Το βάθος πεδίου ειναι εντυπωσιακό,όπως οι λεπτομέρειες των σπιτιών.

Καλή εβδομάδα,Δάνος

TopGeo (22457) 2008-06-30 8:19

Γειά σου Παναγιώτη.
Απίστευτη εικόνα αυτή σου η δημιουργία! Δεν την εχω δεί ποτέ την Κέρκυρα από κεί! Πιστεύω στον φακό σου και την συμπίεση που κάνει να οφείλεται η αίσθηση της επιπεδοποίησης
που μου αρέσει! Καλή διαφήμιση μιας αλοιώτικης Corfu,,
Γεώργιος

DaveLafni (164) 2008-07-01 1:29

Hi Panagiotis
Sharp capture! It's really eye catching picture.
I love the domination colours of the buildings.
Regards,
Lafni

bostankorkulugu (34148) 2008-07-01 22:18

one of the best shots of this old town... with the well placed bell tower and with the warm summer tones in general... very nice indeed panagioti... all the best...

korkut

NMaverick (0) 2008-07-03 3:44

Dear friend, I am sorry to announce that I may be departing from TE very soon. The reason is that TE admins keep erasing my photos although here there are many similar ones, some without even a note! I keep on posting and they keep on rejecting without a "real" reason. when I ask for an explanation by e-mail, they keep ignoring me. Today as another act of threat they erased one of my first posts here. I posted on the forum requesting advise, they erased that post also. I cannot keep up with this rude behavior, I feel I am posting to my stupid pc since once rejected no one responds to my requests.
You be well and keep shooting!
Nick

PeTRo_S (216) 2008-07-24 12:37

Geia sou Pano.Poli wraia fotografia diaygeis me iperoxa xrwmata genika poli wraio kadro.M aresei to kampanario tou Agiou Spiridwna pou deixnei epiblitiko anamesa sta spitia.

Xairetismous
Petros

chrkont (3695) 2008-09-13 14:26

Γεια σου Παναγιώτη
Αν και αρχικά με ξένισε λίγο αυτή η κιτρινωπή-πορτοκαλή απόχρωση του κυρίως θέματος τελικά νομίζω ότι του ταιριάζει πολύ.
Πανέμορφες οι παλιές αλλεπάλληλες κεραμοσκεπές και πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες λεπτομέρειες παντού.
Δεν ξέρω αν είμαι υπερβολικός αλλά αν η πόλη αυτή ήταν στην Ιταλία ίσως ήταν πιο προσεγμένη και όχι κάπως παρατημένη όπως δείχνει αυτή η άποψη.
Χαιρετώ
Χρήστος