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Corfu (; (ギリシア語:Κέρκυρα), ''Kérkyra'' (:ˈcercira); ; (ラテン語:Corcyra); (イタリア語:Corfù)) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands,〔 and, including its small satellite islands, forms the northwesternmost part of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality, which also includes the smaller islands of Ereikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The principal city of the island and seat of the municipality (pop. 32,095) is also named Corfu.〔(Kallikratis law ) Greece Ministry of Interior 〕 Corfu is home to the Ionian University. The island is bound up with the history of Greece from the beginnings of Greek mythology. Its Greek name, ''Kerkyra'' or ''Korkyra'', is related to two powerful water symbols: Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopus and river nymph Metope, and abducted her.〔 Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: ''Korkyra'',〔 which gradually evolved to ''Kerkyra'' (Doric).〔 Together, they had a child they called ''Phaiax'', after whom the inhabitants of the island were named ''Phaiakes'', in Latin ''Phaeaciani''. Corfu's nickname is ''The island of the Phaeacians''. The island's history is full of battles and conquests. Castles punctuating strategic locations across the island are a legacy of these struggles. Two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a ''Kastropolis'' ("castle city") by the Greek government. From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the Ottoman Empire and became one of the most fortified places in Europe. The fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the Adriatic. Corfu repulsed several Ottoman sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire along with the remaining islands of the United States of the Ionian Islands, and unification with modern Greece was concluded in 1864 under the Treaty of London. In 2007, the city's old quarter was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a recommendation by ICOMOS.〔(UNESCO Advisory Body (ICOMOS) report on Corfu History retrieved 3 July 2007 )〕 Corfu is a very popular tourist destination.〔Duncan Garwood, Mediterranean Europe, 2009〕〔Russell King, John Connell, Small worlds, global lives: islands and migration, 1999〕 The island was the location of the 1994 European Union summit. ==Geography== The northeastern edge of Corfu lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania, separated by straits varying in width from . The southeast side of the island lies off the coast of Thesprotia, Greece. The name "Corfu", an Italian version of the Byzantine Κορυφώ (Koryphō), meaning "city of the peaks", derives from the Greek Κορυφαί (Koryphai) (crests or peaks), denoting the two peaks of ''Palaio Frourio''.〔 Its shape resembles a sickle (''drepanē, δρεπάνι''), to which it was compared by the ancients: the concave side, with the city and harbour of Corfu in the centre, lies toward the Albanian coast. With the island's area estimated at , it runs approximately long, with greatest breadth at around . Two high and well-defined ranges divide the island into three districts, of which the northern is mountainous, the central undulating, and the southern low-lying. The more important of the two ranges, that of Pantokrator (Παντοκράτωρ – the ancient Istone) stretches east and west from Cape Falacro to Cape Psaromita, and attains its greatest elevation in the summit of the same name. The second range culminates in the mountain of Santi Jeca, or Santa Decca, as it is called by misinterpretation of the Greek designation ''Άγιοι Δέκα'' (Hagioi Deka), or the Ten Saints. The whole island, composed as it is of various limestone formations, presents great diversity of surface, and views from more elevated spots are magnificent. Beaches are found in Agios Gordis, the Korission lagoon, Agios Georgios, Marathia, Kassiopi, Sidari, Palaiokastritsa and many others. Corfu is located near the Kefalonia geological fault formation; earthquakes have occurred. Much of Corfu city and the countryside preserve 16th century architecture. Corfu's coastline spans including capes; its highest point is Mount Pantokrator (); and the second Stravoskiadi, at . The full extent of capes and promontories take in Agia Aikaterini, Drastis to the north, Lefkimmi and Asprokavos to the southeast, and Megachoro to the south. Two islands are also to be found at a middle point of Gouvia and Corfu Bay, which extends across much of the eastern shore of the island; are known as Lazareto and Ptychia (or Vido). Camping areas can be found in Palaiokastritsa, Agrillia, with four in the northern part, Pyrgi, Roda, Gouvia and Messonghi. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Corfu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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