Achilleion Corfù

About 10 kilometers south of Corfù Town is the most important palace of the whole island. We are talking about the Achilleion, a majestic architectural work that the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, better known as Sissi, had built in 1890. The Habsburg sovereign was in love with Corfù, as with Greece in general, of which she admired and had studied history and culture. Precisely for this reason she chose this splendid Greek island as her summer residence, where she generally went a couple of times during the year. Its construction, in neoclassical style, was entrusted to the Neapolitan architect Raffaele Caritto. And the central theme on which the whole work is based, as the name suggests, is the figure of Achilles. A Greek hero particularly admired by the Empress as a representation of courage and strength.

Sissi remained in possession of the Achilleion until her death. After which the palace was bought by Kaiser Wilhelm II, who used it until 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War. During the wars and in their interlude it became a hospital and passed through various hands. Up to the present day, when it officially became the property of the Greek state, which used it as a museum.

A visit to this charming summer villa allows you to enter the sumptuous halls of the building. Equipped with works of art such as frescoes, paintings, furniture and furnishing accessories, jewels and statues of Greek gods. But also documents concerning the assassination of the empress, which took place at the hands of the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni.

However, the visit does not stop at the rooms of the palace. Because Sissi wanted his residence to be directly connected to the sea. For this reason, between the entrance door and the nearby banks, she wanted a large garden to be created, which would allow her to enter her villa arriving directly by boat.

And even this large open space is a real attraction in itself. Thanks also to the two most iconic statues that can be admired. Both depicting Achilles, but in different ways.

The first is the Dying Achilles, which depicts the Greek hero lying down and suffering, in the act of extracting the arrow from his heel. The second, located at the bottom of the garden, is the Triumphant Achilles, who firmly holds a spear in his hand in an attitude of victory. From this point of the garden you can enjoy one of the most scenic views on the island. Then wandering around the arcades and terraces, a visit to the Peristyle, or Galleria dei Sapienti, is also a must. In this scenographic area of the garden, which you come across once you go up the side staircase, you can stroll flanked by thirteen statues depicting great philosophers and one of Shakespeare.

The building, being in a high position on a hill, can be reached via a climb that climbs with a series of hairpin bends along the hill. It can be easily reached by car, leaving it, if there is space, in the small parking lot a few steps from the entrance to the building. Otherwise, along the road, in the points where it gets a little wider. The distance from Corfu Town is just over ten kilometres, which can be covered in just twenty minutes. A more than reasonable time to visit one of the most beautiful artistic-cultural attractions of the island of Corfù.