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Capodistrias Museum

About the Capodistrias museum

The Capodistrias Museum – Center for Capodistrian Studies
The museum, the only one dedicated to Ioannis Capodistrias, first Governor of Greece and distinguished European statesman, in located in Corfu. It offers visitors a unique opportunity to dive into the history of the Ionian Islands and early 19th century Europe.

It is housed in Koukouritsa, one of the family’s country estates. Set in a luscious garden, it was proclaimed a National Heritage Monument in 1995 by the Greek Ministry of Culture, due to its natural and manmade beauty. Here visitors will enjoy the magnificent views to-wards the sea, the mountains of Epirus and the city of Corfu while relaxing in the natural beauty that has inspired so many artists to this day.

Ioannis Capodistrias 1776-1831

Ioannis Capodistrias was a distinguished statesman who left an indelible mark on the histo-ry of Greece and Europe in the early decades of the 19th century.


Born in Corfu, he studied medicine in Padua, Italy. Upon his return to Corfu, he joined the government of the Septinsular Republic (1800-1807), the first autonomous Greek state. In 1808 he received an invitation from Tsar Alexander I to join the staff of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became a leading figure in European diplomacy, gradually rising to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs (1815-1822). His wish to support the Greek Revolu-tion (1821) which conflicted with Russia’s foreign policy, forced him to resign and retire to Geneva, Switzerland.

 

In April 1827 he was unanimously elected Governor of Greeve 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 in 1831.
He was murdered in Nafplio, on the 27th of September 1831, by his political adversaries. He is buried in Corfu, in Platytera Monastery.