COR'FII, the most northerly of the Ionian islands (q.v.), in lat. 38° 40' to 39° 40' n., long. 19° 10' to 20° east. It has a length 38 m., With a breadth varying from 3 or 4 to 20 miles. Area, 227 sq. miles. Pop. '71, 72,466. Like the rest of the Ionian islands, it is mountainous, and the mountains are generally naked and dry, the highest summit, Paudokratora. being between 3,000 and 4,000 ft. above the sea. The valleys, however, are very fertile, and yield olive-oil, wine, honey, oranges, figs, etc. Salt is also pro duced in some quantity. The climate is generally mild and healthy. The principal town, Corfu, underwent great improvements during the British protectorate, and is copi ously supplied with water. It is situated on an elevation, has some good streets and a fine esplanade. The town, with about 25,000 inhabitants and a considerable trade, is the seat of an archbishop of the Greek church, and of a Latin bishop. The principal
institutions are the penitentiary, the lunatic asylum, the infirmary, foundling hospital, etc. The university, founded by lord Guildfoid in 1823, now represented by a lyceum, was suppressed when (in 1864) the Ionian islands were incorporated with the kingdom of Greece. At the incorporation it was stipulated that Corfu and Paso were to enjoy perpetual neutrality. The language spoken is considered the softest of the modern Greek dialects.—The ancient name of the island of C. was Corqra. It is said to have been occupied first by the Phreacians, and then by the Liburnians; but the accounts of it are somewhat mythical until its settlement by the Corinthians about 734 B.O., and through its commerce it soon after acquired a considerable importance. It soon quar reled with the mother-country, and after many vicissitudes of fortune, passed under the dominion of the Romans about 229 B.C.