San Giacomo

When it was built in 1691, its purpose was to gather the club of the Venetian nobles of Corfu (loggia di nobili). It was transformed into a theatre in 1720 under the name San Giacomo. It was the first theatre in Corfu and the first in the later Greek territory. From the years 1733 to 1893 it became the centre of Greek opera, attracting Italian musicians and composers from Corfu, who contributed to the local music scene. The theatre was the centre for the creation of the Ionian Music School and its cultural influence was catalytic.

Antonio Vivaldi rehearsed his operas here. The famous opera “Juditha Triumphans”, written on the occasion of the repulse of the Ottoman siege of Corfu in 1716, premiered in this building, and then went to Milan and toured all the major European theatres.

The performances in the theatre stopped in 1892 and it was turned into a town hall in 1903.