MUNICIPALITY OF CORFU

The boundaries of the municipality of Corfu include a historic monument “The Old Town of Corfu”, a unique cultural entity of a high aesthetic value, listed in 2007 as a Unesco World heritage site.

The Old Town of Corfu with the fortresses and the built-up area,  is an active town having the demands and needs of the modern life as well as the sensitivities and particularities of a historic monument, threatened by the modern way of life and pressured for modernization, renovation and development. In order to protect all the cultural values included in the “ Old Town of Corfu” the municipality investigates, processes and analyses many possibilities.

In this context, the goal of this specific measure is:

• To improve the quality of life of citizens and to serve them in their everyday life
• To enhance the attractiveness of the city and to project the cultural reserve
• To promote and protect the urban environment
• To boost the financial growth of the region
• To improve the conditions for the understanding of the monumental character of the city and its management as a source of knowledge

The improvement measures were applied in the regions as follows : “Pentofanaro”, “Ionian Academy”, “Eugeniou Boulgareos”, “Ionian Parliament”. The main focus was the unification of the public space and its redesign in order to support a new functional role, mainly attributed to the pedestrians, while promoting the important architectural heritage of the region and improving the quality of life of the residents, also contributing in sustaining the social fabric of the city.

The measures concerned:

• Dismantling of paved areas
• Constructing  new road surfaces (granites) and pavements (traditional type plaques)
• Planting trees and climbing plants
• Public lighting
• Bench seating
• Rainwater harvesting system

The population served by measures of complete urban development is measured to be around 600.000,00. This number may be increased due to Corfu being a very well projected touristic destination.