Achilleion PalaceThis was the summer residence of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Has anyone seen the cartoon Princess Sissi? No? Just me then?
Anyways, a quick run-down of her life:
When Sisi was fifteen, she visited her aunt and cousin, the Empress and Crown Prince of Austria. The purpose of the trip was for Crown Prince Franz Joseph to meet, propose, and marry Sisi's older sister, Helene. (How would that meeting go anyways? "Hi, lovely to meet you for the very first time. How would you like to get married? Great!")
Anyways, when Franz Joseph saw Sisi. It was love at first sight. He openly defied his mother's wishes and married her (which was kind of a big deal since he was renown as a mama's boy). He was 25, she was 15 (This was the 1800's, people.) It was as romantic as it gets.
Unfortunately, everything kind of went downhill after the wedding, and fast. The marriage was not a happy one. Sisi did not enjoy court life; her mother-in-law, the dowager Empress, hated her; she was not allowed to raise her own children; one daughter died of typhus; her only son committed suicide... it was just an endless string of tragic events, ending with her death. At 60, Sisi was stabbed by an anarchist and bled to death. Her tragic life aside, she was renowned for her beauty, as well as the extreme measures she would undertake to preserve it. The empress was extremely proud of her long, thick hair (which reached her ankles and took an entire day to wash) and tiny waist.
The famous portrait of Sisi by Franz Xavier Winterhalter (Right).
The palace was named after Achilles. Paintings and statues commemorating the tragic Greek hero are found throughout the house and gardens.
A statue of the empress greeted us by the entrance. As you can see, the palace is heavily influenced by the Greek style. The most obvious examples being the portico, the staircase and the peristyle. It's hard to see in the photo but two fantastic bronze statues of Hera and Zeus stand beside the staircase entrance.
A close-up of the ever-graceful Hera with her sacred animal, the peacock.
The Peristyle of the Muses.
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Not a Muse, but lovely nonetheless.
More photos of the staircase. Coming down the main staircase from the peristyle, the prominence of the Victory of Achilles stops you in your track.
The side entrance into the palace gardens.
The view of from the gardens.
Unfortunately, only the first floor and the gardens of the palace are open to the public. The second floor, which housed the private chambers, remain closed. The palace is considerably smaller than expected but is definitely worth a visit.
Corfu Town
I have to admit that I did not see much of Corfu during the free time. Most of my time was spent tagging along while the rest of the group shopped. The smaller streets are lined with souvenir and jewelry shops. And given that we only had about two hours, we mainly just stuck to the one street.
Had I money to spend, I probably would have bought a few pieces of jewelry myself. From what I saw, most pieces looked to be locally-made and the craftsmanship was very fine.
The Mediterraneans have no shortage of jewelry shops/boutiques, ranging low-end souvenir to high-end heirlooms. Almost every destination we visited on this trip boasted of a long history of silver/gold jewelry-making. And amazingly, the overall style of the jewelry varies from town to town. Some are more Byzantine, while others are classical (almost stereotypically) Greek.
The other American Embassy - McDonald's.
The first of many, many sightings to come.
The first of many, many sightings to come.
Spyridon ChurchWhile my travel companions were busy looking at rings and what-nots, I popped in the nearby Spyridon Church, a Corfu landmark. Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of the island, is buried here.
It was wonderful to sit in one of the pews (which is probably hundreds of years old by the looks of it) and just take everything in. Unfortunately, I had to leave without seeing the body of Saint Spyridon as there was a huge line for the reliquary and the the church was starting to get overcrowded.
We passed by the Paleo Frourio ("Old Fort") on the way back to the ship.
Guess I know where I want to visit next time I'm in Corfu!
Greece is just gut-wrenchingly beautiful gaaaaaah!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to sneak away for a few minutes and get to do something you wanted to do, visiting Spyridon Church.
I don't like it when not all rooms are open to the public. Yes, the east wing of Bleheim Palace was closed because the family is still living there, but when no one is living there, why can't I see it? I don't care if the rooms are full of old paint cans and drop cloths!
LOL to your comment about the other American embassy. So true (and sad. mainly sad, I guess).
Maybe the family thinks you might judge them for the way they've redecorated the east wing?
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