Palace of St. Michael and St. George, Neoclassical palace in Corfu, Greece.
The Palace of St. Michael and St. George displays neoclassical architecture with Maltese limestone facades, symmetrical layouts, classical columns, and decorative sculptural elements created by local and international craftsmen.
Commissioned by Sir Thomas Maitland, the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, the palace was built between 1819 and 1824 to a neoclassical design by Colonel George Whitmore. Its foundation stone was laid on St. George's Day in 1819. It housed the Ionian Senate and the Order of St Michael and St George, and after 1864 served as a royal residence until 1967.
Since 1927, the palace has housed the Museum of Asian Art of Corfu, featuring over 10,000 artifacts including textiles, sculptures, and paintings that represent various Asian cultural traditions and artistic expressions.
Visitors can explore the palace's grand staircase, rotunda, Throne Room with royal portraits, and surrounding gardens that offer views over Vido Island and Corfu harbor while enjoying the Art Café exhibitions.
The palace originally served as the headquarters for the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, a British chivalric order founded in 1818, until the Ionian Islands' union with Greece.
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