﻿IONIAN ISLANDS. 



IONIAN ISLANDS. 



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and Stamto; the oUr*-tT«« cbieflr in the northern uUndii, Corfu 

 •nd Pkxo ; the Tine in all the ieUnd* ; cotton ohiefl; in Cephklonia, 

 and flax in Corfu. Ship-boildiog ia extenaiTalj carried on. Mid uiiuiy 

 of the inhabitania are engaged in maritime pnmiita. The iiuporta 

 eooiUt of nigar, coffee, drugs, rilk, cotton, and woollen goods, earthen- 

 ware, hardware, iron, timber, atarea, and hoops. 



The garemmant i< a republic, under the protection of Great Britain, 

 rep raa m tad by a lord hii;h comniiaioDer, who raaidea in Corfu, the 

 o^iital of the republia The lugislatire power ia veated in a Senate of 

 8 OMmbm^ and a LegislatiTe Aiisembly of 40 memben. By an agree- 

 mmH hatween the protecting and the prot«cte<l govenimeata, which 

 waa reriaed in 1 8S0, the payment made to the British goremment by 

 the Septinaular Republic ia fixed at 8S,00(U. a year. From thia source 

 the OMt of the military establishment is defrayed. About 3000 

 Briti>h troopa are employed for the protection of the isUnda, and 

 the lord high oomminaioner is commandei^in-chief. In 1852 the 

 general expoiditure amounted to 136,1191. 16t. lOd. ; the income to 

 iM>,03W. it. : the income for 1852 being much below the avemge, 

 chiefly in oonsequonce of a deficient olive harvest in the northern 

 islands, and a great falling off in the ourraiit crop in the aouthem 

 islands. The Greek Church ia the established form of religion. 

 There are at Corfu a univemity and au ecclesiastical college for clergy 

 of the Greek Church ; and each of the islands and chief towns 

 haa a school, in which the sucieut Greek and Latin, the modem 

 languages, and mathematics are taught. In 1852 the university had 

 7(5 students, the minor college 79, and the ecclesiastical seminary 18. 

 The number of scholars at coinmou schools is given above. The 

 language of the islands is moiem Greek. The government of the 

 Ionian branch of the Greek Church ia under an exarch, or primate, 

 and the office is held for five years in rotation by the Greek arch- 

 bishops of Corfu, Cephalooia, and Santa Uaura. 



CsrBALOKlA, the ancient CephalUnia, the largest of the Ionian 

 labnda, lies between 38° 4' and 38° 28' N. lat, 20° 18' and 20° 48' 

 E. long. The greatest length north-north-west and south-southeast 

 is 31 miles. The breadth about the middle of the island is 10 miles, 

 but in the north part it is much more. The shores are indented by 

 several gulfa A calcareous ridge runs across the island from north- 

 west to south-east, and the lower projections cover nearly all the 

 rest of the island. The loftiest summit is 4000 feet high. The plain 

 about the middle of the island is about aix miles in length, and is 

 chiefly plant.-d with vines. Large quantities of currants are exported 

 annually. The other native productions are oranges, lemons, fi^s, and 

 melons. The climate is very mild, but subject to heavy mins and 

 violent storms ArgoMtoli, population about 6000, the principal town 

 of the ifland, stands at the foot of a mountain, on the west shore of 

 the Bay of Cephalonia. It has a fine harbour, fit for ships of the 

 lamat sixe, with a convenient quay, about n mile long. 



Court;, tiie ancient Coreyra, is separated from the coast of Epirus 

 by an im-gulsr channel. It lies between 39° 21' and 39° 51' N. lat., 

 19* 86' and 20* 8' E. long. Its greatest length is 88 mUes, and iu 

 greatest breadth 20 miles. The surface is mountainous, especially in 

 the north part. The highest summits are nearly 2000 feet above the 

 sea. The mountains are rocky and naked, but the valleys are fertile, and 

 watered by many streams, which however are mostly dry in summer. 

 Com is grown to some extent, and the productn of the islaud 

 include oranges, lemons, salt, honey, and wax. Olive-oil is made 

 annually to the amount in ordinary seasons of 190,000 barrels. The 

 chief town, Corfu, the capital of the Ionian Islands, consists of three 

 parts, the citadel, the town, and the suburbs. It ia the seat of 

 gOTemmrnt and of the legislative assembly, and contains two strong 

 castles, the palace of the lord high commissioner, an arsenal and 

 barracks, several churches, and a university. There ia a good harbour. 

 Communication ia maintained weekly by packet with Otranto, and 

 fortnightly by steam-veaael with Athens, Trieste, Gibraltar and 

 Knglnnd. The population is about 20,000. The other towns are 

 Liapadei^ with '.2500 inhabitants, Chorachiana, with 2000, Peretia, 

 Cawopo, and Agraftaa. San Nicolo and Affioua possess good 

 harbours. 



S.vxTA Hadra, the Leueat of the ancient Greeks, and the Leuccuiia 

 of the motlems, lies south of the entrance to the Gulf of Arta, and 

 is 30 miles long by from 6 to 10 miles wide. It is separated from 

 the mainland by a long narrow channel navigable only by canoes, 

 and consists of a range of mountains tenniuating on the north in a 

 flat peninsuU, and on the south in the promontory of Ca|ie Ducato, 

 near which ia the rock called Sappho's Leap, whtnce, according to the 

 tradition, the poetess plunged into the sea. The north and west sides 

 of the island consist of a rich soil, and are very productive. The 

 olive, the vine, and other fruit-trees are the principal objects of 

 cultivation. Com ia produced to some extent. The chief town, 

 Santa Maura, or Amaxichi, is unhealthily situatol in the low 

 peninsula on the north of the iainnd. On an islet north of the town 

 stands the castle of Santa Maura, which is garrisoned by a British 

 regiment. It is joined to the town by a causeway constructed on 

 865 arches over a salt laguua which separates the island from the 

 mainland. 



Zantk, the Zakynthot of the ancient and modem Greeks, situated 

 about 10 miles S. from Cephalonia, and 15 miles \V. from the Morea, 

 is a beautiful and fertile island. It is about 20 miles long, and 



oonaists chiefly of an extensive plain stretching from the north to 

 the south coast, with a breadth of 6 or 8 miles. The products are 

 similar to those of the other isUnds, but more abundauL The wine 

 espeoiaUy ia oonaidered to be of superior quality, and is in great 

 requaat Bat the most important product of the island is the currant, 

 which is the fruit of a dwarf species of vine originally brought from 

 Corinth, whence the name. The petroleum wells ilencribi-d by 

 Herodotus (ir. 195), are about 12 miles 8. from the town of Zaals, 

 in a marshy district, in the south eastern part of the island. A 

 tallow-well is in a cavern on the shore. Zatttt, the largest, most 

 populous, and most commercial town of the Ionian Itcpublic, ia 

 situated at the head of a bay on the east coast of the islimd. The 

 population is about 24,000. The streets are uarron-, but the houaes 

 are well built chiefly in the Italian styU The churches are 

 numerous. There are two piaxzas, or squares. The harbour is pro- 

 tected by a mole, but is not very securcL From the citadel, which 

 stands on the highest part of the town, there is a magnificent view 

 over Cephalonia, the Gulf of Lepanto, and the coast of the Pi31o|>ou- 

 uesue. The town contains an arsenal, a custom-house, nud a theatre. 

 Zante suffered severely from an earthquake iu October 1841. 



Cerioo, the ancient Cgthira, the fabled birth-place aud favourite 

 island of the goddess Venus, is now the place of banishment of the 

 convicts of the other islands, and presents a rocky aud barreu aspect. 

 A considerable number of cattle are reared ou the island. Cerigo is 

 the most southern of the louian Islauds, lyiug between 36° 3' and 

 36° 22' N. lat, and is traversed nearly through its centre by the 

 meridian of 23° K. long. Some remains shown near the chief town, 

 Capsali (population 5000), are said to have formed part of the temple 

 of Venus mentioned by Pauaauias. 



Ithaca, the Tluaii of the mo<lera Oreeka, celebrated as the scene 

 of a large portion of the Homeric poems, lies E. of Cephalonia, from 

 which it is separated by a long narrow straiL It is 17 miles long, 

 and 4 miles broad at its widest part. It is deeply iudeiited about the 

 middle of its length on the eastern side by the Gulf of Alolo, between 

 which and the channel of Cephalonia is a narrow isthmus which 

 unites the northern and southern parts of the island. The island ia 

 divided into four districts — Bathy, A6t()s, Auoge, aud Exoge, signify- 

 ing Deep Bay, Eagle's Cliff, Highland, aud Outiaud. The limestone 

 range, which runs through its whole lengtli, rises everywhere into 

 rugged eminences, aud the surface is so broken that tliere is hardly 

 100 yards of continuous level ground throughout the whole island. 

 The forests which anciently covered a great part of tho island have 

 disappeared. The soil is light and shallow, yet olives, currants, 

 vines, aud some corn are raised by tho industrious population. The 

 climate is renowned for its salubrity, the inhabitants frequently 

 attaining the age of frum 80 to 100 years. Valhi, or Bothy, the chief 

 town, stiiiids on the sliore of the little bay of Dexio, an inlet from 

 the beautiful bay of Vathi, in the Gulf of Molo. It has a papulation 

 of 2j00. The Cyclopean walls, named the Castle of Ulysses, stand 

 on the sides and summit of Mount Aito, or Adt^Js, in the isthmus 

 which connects tho two ends of the island. Neai- the village of 

 Exoge are remains of the foundation of au ancient building with 

 steps and niches cut in the rock. The remains are called by the 

 neighbouring )>easauts, ' The School of Homer.' A cave ou the side 

 of Mount Stephanos, or Merovugli, is supposed to corres|iond with 

 the 'Grotto of the Nymphs' in which the sleeping Ulysses was 

 deposited by the Phoauiciaus who brought him from Sohenm. 

 ('Od.' xiii. 116, seq.) 



Paxo lies S. of Corfu. It ia only about 5 miles long, and scarcely 

 2 miles broad. The surface is r.xxky, mountainous, aud arid. The 

 principal jiroduce is oil. Tho only town is Polo-Uayo, a mere cluster 

 of houses built ou the shore. 



The smaller dependent islands are Merlera and Fano, which lis 

 N.W. of Corfu; Anti-Poj-o, S.E. of Paxo; Kalamo aud Mti/anisi, E. 

 of Santa Maura; and CeriyoUo, .S.E. of Cerigo. 



In reference to the social condition of the people, and the state of 

 agriculture in the Ionian Islands, Sir H. G. Ward, the lord high 

 commissioner, writes iu August 1851 as follows : — " Iu countries where 

 the law of real property is defective, and tho relations between land- 

 lord and tenant vicious, where proprietors are subdivided and scat- 

 tered, where the climate is unfavourable to bodily exertion, slid the 

 people have been accustomed for centuries to trust to the uncertain 

 support which they derive with little labour from the olive-tree, 

 agriculture must languish. Such has been the state, and such is tho 

 case in Corfu. The law, the usages as they affect property, and the 

 climate are nearly uniform throughout Uis islands; but as the 

 currant-vines require labour and vigilance, as well as skill, to make 

 them profitable, the peculiar agriculture required for that purpose is 

 t<derably well understood, aud as well applied. But even in Corfu 

 improvement is going on ; the indifference as to boundaries and 

 trespasscp, which was formerly so remarkable, begins to disappear ; 

 pro|>rietora are anxious for definite limits ; paths, which carelessness 

 had suffered to become almost roads, have b> en broken up ; ditching, 

 draining, and feucing are carried on more ext«ni<ively aud more 

 skilfully tliaii formerly; and these operations have had their iuflueiica 

 upon the )iopulation." In Au^tist 1853 Sir H. G. Ward further 

 writes, " The observations of former reports upon the baneful 

 influence of a bad law of real property upon agriculture continue 



