Capodistrias Museum

The Capodistrias Museum on Corfu Island is a unique museum dedicated to the life and legacy of Count Ioannis Capodistrias (1776-1831), the 1^st Governor of Greece.

The museum is situated in the picturesque Capodistrias family country estate on Koukouritsa Hill, a nationally protected historic site for its architectural and natural beauty.
The museum visitors will have the opportunity to discover Corfu’s celebrated cultural and natural heritage. The permanent exhibition includes a collection of the Governor’s personal belongings, family memorabilia and government documents, offering visitors a journey through the life and achievements of Ioannis Capodistrias and the history of 19^th century Corfu, Europe and Greece. In the Museum’s lush botanical garden, visitors will enjoy the splendid views over the inland areas and the Ionian Sea, and they will get to know more about the estate’s local environment and history, during their garden tour. The Garden Café is in the clearing, where cultural events take place during the summer months.

The permanent exhibition

An exhibition related to Capodistrias is arranged in four rooms of the old country house, each representing a different period of his life and career, starting with his childhood in Corfu and continuing with his political career in the Septinsular Republic, and then in Europe where he became a diplomat and later Foreign Affairs Minister of the Russian Empire. Later on, he returned to Greece and he served as the 1^st Governor of the modern Greek State until his assassination in 1831. The remaining rooms are dedicated to his political legacy & leadership and the history of his family mansion on Koukouritsa Hill.

The Garden

The Museum Garden is a 1.3-hectare area on a hill, a serene landscape, rich with flowers, herbs and trees found in the Corfiot countryside, such as olive, laurel, and myrtle trees. The beautiful garden, the stone-paved pathways, and majestic views of the inland areas and the opposite shores across the Ionian Sea will turn a visit to Koukouritsa into a memorable experience. You can connect to a free web app and follow the Garden tour for more information on the natural surroundings and history of the estate and the Corfiot countryside in general. Near the clearing, the Museum Café is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the lovely nature under the shade of centuries-old pine trees.

Culture

Ioannis Capodistrias, a short bio

loannis Capodistrias (1776-1831) was a distinguished statesman, who left his mark on the early 19^th century Greek and European history. Born in Corfu, he studied at the University of Padua, ltaly. Upon his return to Corfu, he joined the government of the Septinsular Republic (1800-1807), the first autonomous Greek State in modern history. ln 1808, he received an invitation from Tsar Alexander to travel to St. Petersburg and join the staff of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became a leading figure in European diplomacy, and rose to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs (1815-1822) of the Russian Empire. Following a disagreement he had with Tsar Alexander on the Greek Cause, he resigned and moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he channelled all his efforts into gaining support for the Greek War of lndependence against the Ottoman Empire.

ln April 1827, he was unanimously elected first Governor of Greece by the Greek National Assembly. He worked hard to set the foundations of the modern Greek State and was finally able to establish the independence of Greece, after persistent diplomatic negotiations on his part. He was murdered in Nafplio town, on September 27, 1831 by his political adversaries. His body was taken to Corfu Island and it was buried in the Platytera Monastery.

Capodistrias Museum

The establishment of the Museum is owed to Maria Capodistria - Desylla (1898-1980), an exceptional person, who was the great-granddaughter of the Governor’s youngest brother. She served as the Mayor of Corfu (1956-1959) and she was the first woman in Greece to have ever been elected to this office. She was very fond of her estate in Koukouritsa, and she envisioned the creation of a public entity that would highlight the legacy of her great ancestor. In 1979, she donated the country house and part of the Koukouritsa estate, along with family heritage items, to three cultural institutions of Corfu – The Reading Society of Corfu (founded in 1836), The Philharmonic Society of Corfu (founded in 1841) and The Society of Corfiot Studies (founded in 1952) – with the ultimate aim of establishing a museum as a modern centre for culture, and research on Ioannis Capodistrias and his time.

The Capodistrias Museum – Centre of Capodistrian Studies was founded in 1981. In recent years, the Capodistrias Museum has gained wide recognition for raising awareness on the legacy of Ioannis Capodistrias and on the local cultural and natural heritage. In 2022, the Museum was nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award by the European Museum Forum, and in 2023 it was honoured by the Benaki Museum for promoting the Greek culture. In 2019, the Museum Café kiosk received a distinction for its original design by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, after taking part in the 9^th Biennale of Young Architects in Athens.