July 2007

Welcome to our July newsletter. This month we are featuring Corfu’s success in being inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the details of the Corfu Festival "Ionian Concerts 2007 being held this month and we are also taking you off the ‘beaten track’ to discover a side of the island that is untouched by commercial development. We continue our feature on Corfiot recipes and this month you can try out what is a traditional ‘Corfiot’ Sunday lunch.

THE OLD TOWN OF CORFU – Added to the World Heritage List.

At the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, Christchurch, New Zealand held between 23 June and 2 July 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) added Corfu ‘Old Town’ to its World Heritage List. With its Venetian forts and neo-classical housing was inscribed as ‘a fortified Mediterranean port town of high integrity and authenticity.’ 

A key benefit of ratification is access to the World Heritage fund - annually, about US$4 million is made available to assist States Parties in identifying, preserving and promoting World Heritage sites.

Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List also benefit from the implementation of a comprehensive management plan that sets out preservation measures. In support of these, experts offer technical training to the local site management team. The inscription of a site on the World Heritage List also brings an increase in public awareness of the site and of its outstanding values, therefore increasing tourist activities at the site.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/newproperties/

THE CORFU FESTIVAL – IONIAN CONCERTS JULY 2007

The Corfu Festival "Ionian Concerts 07" is organized by the Department of Music of the Ionian University, the Municipality of Corfu, the Bowling Green State University (USA), the Mahidol University (Thailand), the Sibelius Academy (Finland) and the "Melos Brass" Ensemble. It is a part of the 5th Summer Academy that includes music seminars and lectures. Throughout July, the Ionian Concerts invite you to enjoy musical performances of the highest quality, which are being held in settings of incomparable aesthetic and historic interest.

Wind & Percussion - 3^rd to 10^th July

Multimedia Concerts - 8^th & 20^th July

Classical Experience - 8^th to 23^rd July

East Meets West – 14^th, 24^{th and} 25^th July

Ionian Jazz Concerts - 26^th to 29^th July

Every evening from 1^st to 10^th July, at 8pm, there will open air concerts in Town Hall Square, performed by Corfu Summer Academy Student Ensembles.

For full details of the events and venues please follow the web link:  http://www.corfufestival.gr/index_en.html

THE MONASTERY OF THE VIRGIN MARY OF MYRTIDIOTISSA

Forget tourism, yes Corfu has a lot to offer a holiday maker, but what about the ‘other’ side to Corfu that is relatively unknown of or unheard of….the non-touristy side of the island? Places that have been around for centuries and are untouched by development? One such place is the ‘Monastery of the Virgin Mary of Myrtidiotissa’ which is located approximately 15km west of Corfu town, between the villages of Pelekas and Vatos, under the mountain of Agios Georgios and directly after the beach of Myrtiotissa.

No one is precisely sure of the exact date the Monastery was founded, but it is thought to be around four hundred years ago – the only references found are in manuscripts of father Amvrosios Paktitis, who served the Monastery from 1892 until 1956, initially as a monk and after as an abbot of the Monastery. These manuscripts have been published in a book and a brief history can be found on the following link: http://www.mirtiotissa.gr/history.htm

The Monastery owes its name to an icon of the Virgin Mary that was found by father Daniel, after a vision he saw, in a cave between myrtles (an evergreen tree with white or pink flowers and edible blue-black fruit) at the same point where the monastery was later built. The monastery has survived raids from pirates, robberies, natural destruction, and the principal problem - deterioration over time.
The monastery remains active today due to the work and efforts of father Sofronios, the resident monk.

Today, his dream and daily struggle is to eliminate the marks of time left over the years on the Monastery. He began his works in the summer of 2006 and not only has the functional problems that existed in the buildings improved, but also the surrounding area of the Monastery.

Apart from the repairs and the improvements that he has accomplished up until now, father Sofronios is working to enrich the fauna of the region - raising animals that used to be abundant in the area (hares, rabbits, goats etc) and setting them free again in the forest surrounding the Monastery and also on the  mountain of Agios-Georgios.

One of father Sofronios’ future dreams is to restore repair the traditional oil factory found in the Monastery which dates from 1896. This will give the Monastery and farmers in the region the ability to once again produce oil in the traditional way. Website link: http://www.mirtiotissa.gr/index.htm

LOCAL CORFIOT SPECIALITIES

Following on from last month’s recipe of ‘Sofrito’ here’s another Corfiot specialty to enjoy…Cockerel Pastichada. This dish is traditionally served for Sunday lunch….

COCKEREL PASTICHADA
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 to 6) 

• 4-5 kilos of cockerel (cut in pieces)
• 1 cup of olive oil
• 4 onions, finely chopped
• 3 soupspoons of tomato paste
• 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks (as desired)
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon dry basil (if desired)
• 500 g pasta
• Grated hard cheese

METHOD

1. Fry the chopped onions in the olive oil until translucent, then add the spices. Stir for 2-3 minutes adding the meat portions to brown. Add 2 cups of water and boil for 15 minutes.
2. Dilute the tomato paste in a cup of water, add it to the saucepan, cover and simmer for at least 1 hour until the sauce becomes thick.