2 - UNESCO: World Heritage

DESCRIPTION
♦ HISTORIC CENTRE
∗ Residential Structure - Urban Morphology (Exhibits 5 & 6)
The built-up area is divided into three large sections, which according to the geomorphology of the ground are
defined by three hills (Campielo, Agion Pateron, Agiou Athanassiou). These three sections are sub-divided into
ten individual units characterised by a particular internal organisation and urban morphology.
The arrangement of the urban areas of the old town is shown on map 12 of the Annex.
The density of the three basic sections varies. The northwestern hill, Campielo, has the highest residential
density, whereas construction at the two edges of the town, the southern edge and the neighbourhood around
the New Fortress, is essentially sparse. Each of the individual units (neighbourhoods) has specific, distinctive
features: the square, which constitutes its centre and the heart of communal activity, with the church and tall
belfry, from which in most cases the area takes its name.
The residential network varies. In most cases it follows a strict linear succession of elongated building blocks,
orientated along an east-west axis (mostly in edge areas), while in the areas of the inner hills, where the old
residential cores were probably located, it appears irregular and fragmentary, with a labyrinthine road network
full of multiple junction points (squares, two- and three-way junction points).
∗ The road network (Exhibit 7)
The two main streets running across the lower areas, which are basically ravines formed by three hills are
orientated along an east-west axis (Old Fortress to Porta Reale = main gate of the surrounding wall towards
the island’s interior and Old Fortress to Spilia Gate = port) and designed with sharpness, strictness and
simplicity. Another main street, perpendicular to the abovementioned, together with the ring road along the
perimeter of the surrounding wall, constitute the basic road network, directly related to the four gates of the
once walled town.
The simple and austere basic road network coexists with an extremely dense and complex system of
secondary streets (kantounia), 1 to 3 m. wide, arranged in a somewhat random and flexible manner. They often
run uphill, following the morphology of the terrain, they form stairs, gradients, vaulted passageways, small
successive squares, and they are rarely straight. These charming features create one of the most interesting
characteristics of the historic centre.
The central streets present equally great interest from the architectural point of view. The alignment method,
the variety of width and height of the surrounding buildings and above all the arcades and archways, with the
various openings and heights, create a particularly harmonious whole that is in never monotonous and fully
functional.
The road network and its evaluation are shown on map 13 of the Annex.
The Old Town of Corfu Nomination for inclusion on the World Heritage List 6
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