Corfu Town Hall is a stone Venetian building on Town Hall Square (Plateia Dimarchiou) in the old town of Corfu. It was built in the late 17th century as a loggia where the island's nobles met, and in 1720 it was turned into the Teatro di San Giacomo, the first theatre of modern Greece. For more than 150 years it was the centre of opera in the Greek world, and the first opera with a Greek libretto had its premiere here.
Corfu Town Hall at a glance
- Where: on Town Hall Square (Plateia Dimarchiou), in the upper part of Corfu's old town, a short walk from the Liston.
- Built: in the later 17th century under Venetian rule, as the Loggia dei Nobili; converted into a theatre in 1720 and into the town hall in 1903.
- What it is today: the seat of the Municipality of Corfu, a working town hall; its façade is the main thing visitors come to see.
- Time needed: 10 to 15 minutes for the building and the square.
From nobles' loggia to opera house to town hall
Corfu was ruled by Venice for about four centuries, and the city still has many reminders of it. In the late 17th century the Venetians put up a loggia here, an arcaded building where the island's nobility could gather, do business and talk politics. In 1691 a portrait of Francesco Morosini, the Venetian commander who became doge, was placed on the building's eastern wall. In 1720 the loggia was converted into a theatre and named after the nearby Catholic cathedral of San Giacomo (St James).
The Teatro di San Giacomo staged its first opera in 1733, and for the next century and a half it was the main stage for opera in the Greek lands, with Italian singers, musicians and composers working alongside local talent. In 1867 it hosted the premiere of Spyridon Xyndas's The Parliamentary Candidate, the first opera written to a purely Greek libretto. When a new municipal theatre was built in the 1890s, the old one closed, and in 1903 the building became Corfu's town hall.
What to look for
- The stone façade, with its Venetian proportions and arches, which still reads as a public building of the Serenissima rather than a Greek one.
- The portrait of Francesco Morosini on the eastern wall, placed there in 1691.
- Town Hall Square itself, a sloping square with steps, framed by the town hall, the Catholic cathedral and Venetian-era mansions.
- The top of the square's steps, the best spot to take in the whole façade at once.
A cradle of Greek opera
Corfu was never part of the Ottoman Empire, and it kept close links with Italy, so Western music took root here earlier than anywhere else in Greece. The San Giacomo theatre trained audiences and musicians for generations. Corfu is also the home of Nikolaos Mantzaros, the composer who set Dionysios Solomos's Hymn to Liberty to music; its opening verses later became the Greek national anthem. A walk past the town hall is a walk past the place where much of that musical life began.
Tips for your visit
- The building is a working town hall, so the interior is not generally open as a museum; enjoy the façade and the square.
- Come in the late afternoon, when the light warms the stone and the square fills with people heading to dinner.
- Sit on the steps or at a café in the square to take in the whole Venetian ensemble.
- Combine it with the Catholic cathedral next door and a stroll down to the Liston.
Nearby
- Catholic Cathedral of St James and St Christopher: the church that gave the theatre its name, right on the square.
- Liston and Spianada: the arcaded promenade and great square of Corfu, a few minutes' walk away.
- Church of St Spyridon: the island's most venerated church, with the relics of its patron saint and a tall red-domed bell tower.
- Old Fortress: the Venetian citadel on its rocky headland, across the Spianada.
See Corfu with World City Trail
Our Corfu scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 26 minutes of walking. It includes places such as Spianada Square and the Liston arcades. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch or Greek.
If you prefer a different format, Corfu also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Corfu scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Corfu →
Play the outdoor escape game in Corfu →
Facts checked in October 2026.