Achilleion Palace, Corfu

Achilleion Palace in Corfu is a magnificent summer palace that was built for Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, in the late 19th century. The palace is located in Gastouri, a village about 10 km south of the city of Corfu, and provides stunning views of the city and the Ionian Sea. The palace was designed to suggest an ancient palace of mythical Phaeacia, with the motif centered on the hero Achilles of Greek mythology, from which the name is derived.

The Empress of Austria, who was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, following the Mayerling incident in 1889, sought refuge in Greece, and specifically in the island of Corfu. Having visited the island for long periods of time while living in Mon Repo, she fell in love with the beauty of nature and the mythological references and wanted to build her own palace. Thus, in the 19th century, she bought the villa of a Corfiot and built Achilleion in its place. She dedicated the palace to Achilles, with many speculations associating it with her lost son, who like Achilles, seemed vulnerable in his own Achilles heel, his forbidden love.

The palace is decorated with imposing statues, with one of the most famous depicting Achilles “the Mortal Achilles” made in 1884. Additionally, the statues of the 9 muses were designed with elements of statues that existed in Ancient Greece. The mural on the roof of the building, a work by the Italian painter Galopi, is also noteworthy as it depicts the four seasons.

After the assassination of Queen Elizabeth by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Luceni, in Geneva on September 10, 1898, German Emperor William II bought Achilleion. The philhellene and lover of ancient Greek culture, also known as “Kaiser”, added another statue of Achilles to the palace with the inscription “To the greatest of the Greeks from the greatest of the Germans”.

The end of the First World War found Achilleion deserted under the ownership of the Greek state, and in the following years, it was turned into a casino after its transfer to a West German company in 1962. King Paul believed that Achilleion would mark the development of the island like another Monaco. Achilleion operated as a casino until 1981 and after it was closed due to political unrest in 1984, it was reopened under the direction of Hellenic Tourism Development Company, within the Greek National Tourism Organization.

Today, Achilleion Palace is a great museum and one of the most famous royal villas in Europe that is worth visiting. The palace reflects Empress Sissy’s love for ancient Greece and mythology, and it is a treasure of cultural elements that one cannot help but feel awe in front of the endless nobility of Ancient Greek-inspired masterpieces that decorate the palace.