Petriti

In ancient times the village of Petriti was known as “Egrypos” which derives from the Greek word
“Evrous” and literally means good river.The area belonged to a Byzantine landowner by the name of
Petretino or Petriti, who granted the village to the Palatianos family as a possible dowry. There is a
Byzantine tower, remaining intact, that is believed to still belong to the family. The foundations date
back to Roman times and the structure, which is five metres in diameter, is thought to have been a
cistern or a grain store. Petriti has been largely populated by the nearby hilltop village of Kourakades,
whose houses suffered landslides. The harbour is bustling with fishing boats and boasts to be the
largest fishing village in Corfu today. There is a large car park where you can park up for the day and
take your pick from seven fish tavernas; who serve fresh fish caught a few hours before, by the local
fishermen.
As you head away from the harbour there is an imposing church at ground level which is unusual
in Corfu, as most of them are perched high above at the top of the village. A right hand turn will
take you up to the centre of the old village, where most of the 700 permanent residents live. There
are several festivals here including one to honour Agia Kerkyra at the Orthodox church. The main
panigiri is celebrated on 15th August for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Petriti is unique as it is
a working village on the coastline. The Varkarola is celebrated on 9th August where everyone and
anyone take out their boats into the harbour and light candles. I was told that Petriti has the oldest
house in Corfu. Set back from the sea, the small chapel there has its name day on 2nd July. The house
belonged to the Palationas family and one of the daughters married a British high commissioner, in
Victorian times. It is believed that the house is now owned by the Voulgareos family who own the
relics of Saint Spyridon. All this information was kindly supplied from the books written by Steve Ford and the money raised from sales of these goes to Corfu Charities. Please use the link below to download your own copy and find more information on all the villages listed and more from Steve