The Malta-Corfu connection

Dr Robert John Muscat was pleasantly surprised with the similarities and the connections between Malta and Corfu:

..From our part, we seem to have left these connections in our history books and totally forgot about them. Everywhere you go one can see some shops bearing “Maltese” surnames, hotels named after Malta or bearing Maltese surnames (Hotel Maltezos and Hotel Debono are only two of many), and tourist guide books proudly stating that some of the main historical buildings on the island were built with Maltese stone by Maltese stone masons.

The new Mayor of Corfu (who was incidentally elected while on our trip on the island and maybe our influence on the electorate contributed to his success!) is of Maltese descent. His name is Sotiris Michalef (Saviour Micallef). Though we could not meet him personally at the time since he was busy after being elected, he is well aware of the new interest being shown by the Maltese in this island and my contacts in Corfu assure me that he is more than willing to further these ties. Local councils please note.

The Catholic Bishop is Iannis Spitieris (John Spiteri). In a country which is almost exclusively Orthodox in religion, the fact that Corfu has a Catholic community, most of whom are descendants of Maltese emigrants, is testimony to the vigour of the ancestral legacy. A look at the history of both islands brings us to a common point of reference – the British, particularly Sir Thomas Maitland. He was the Governor of Malta and was subsequently appointed as the first Lord High Commissioner for the Ionian Islands, including the islands of Cyprus, Corfu, Constantinople and Smyrna. Although the Maltese historical connections with all these islands is very interesting, particularly with Cyprus, I shall limit myself to the island of Corfu..

The historical connection between Malta and Corfu is not the only similarity. Corfu, which is only a one-hour flight away from Malta, is 56km long and 13km wide, making it just over twice the size of Malta. The climate is very similar to ours, with the exception that it is much greener than Malta (having over four million olive trees planted by the Venetians which are protected religiously), has many hills (its highest point is about 900m above sea level). It is surrounded by glorious beaches (31 of which are blue flag) and some of which are only accessible by boat.

Its inhabitants live a slow, relaxed pace of life typified by avro – it can wait until tomorrow (more like Malta some 15 years ago). There exists a café culture and the local people are as friendly and hospitable as the Maltese. Like us they love the outdoor life especially sailing between the islands. The food is also very good. All the above, and more, make the possibility of local council twinning agreements something to look into...