reflects this era when the island belonged to the Republic of Venice, with multi-storied buildings on narrow lanes.
Many Venetian-speaking families settled in Corfu during these centuries and until the second half of the 20th century, the Veneto da mar was spoken in Corfu: they were called Corfiot Italians. During this time, the local Greek language assimilated a large number of Italian and Venetian words, many of which are still common today.
The Venetian feudal families pursued a mild but somewhat enervating policy towards the natives, who began to adopt some segments of Venetian customs and culture. The Corfiotes were encouraged to enrich themselves by the cultivation of the olive, but were debarred from entering into commercial competition with Venice.
The island served as a refuge for Greek scholars, and in 1732 became the home of the first academy of modern Greece. A Corfu clergyman and scholar, Nikephoros Theotokis (1732–1800) became renowned in Greece as an educator, and in Russia (where he moved later in his life) as an Orthodox archbishop.
Many Italian Jews took refuge in Corfu during the Venetian centuries and spoke their own language (Italkian), a mixture of Hebrew-Italian in a Venetian or Apulian dialect with some Greek words.
The Venetian influence was important in the development of opera on Corfu. During Venetian rule, the Corfiotes developed a fervent appreciation of Italian opera, which was the real source of the extraordinary (given the conditions in the mainland of Greece) musical development of the island during that era. It was in Venetian times that the city saw the erection of the first opera in Greece, but it was badly damaged during World War II by German artillery.
The internationally renowned Venetian-born British photographer Felice Beato is thought to have spent much of his childhood in Corfu.
Venetians promoted the Catholic church during their four centuries rule in Corfu. Even if
