Spianada Square and Liston

The Spianada is the large open square on the eastern side of Corfu Old Town, in the Ionian Islands of Greece, and is widely described as one of the largest squares in Greece. It originated as a military glacis: the Venetians kept the ground in front of the Old Fortress clear of buildings so that defenders had open fields of fire, and they demolished houses to create the space in the 16th century. Over time the cleared ground became a promenade and public park. The French, who occupied the island at the start of the 19th century, introduced the Liston, an arcaded row of buildings along the western edge, modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. The British, who held the Ionian Islands as a protectorate from 1815 to 1864, then shaped the square with gardens, a bandstand and a cricket ground, which still hosts matches.

The Liston is lined with arches and cafes, and was historically a place where the local nobility strolled and met; the name relates to the list of families entitled to walk there. Other landmarks around the square include the Maitland Rotunda, a neoclassical monument to the first British Lord High Commissioner, the Palace of St Michael and St George at the northern end, and various memorials to figures of the island's history. Statues and monuments stand in the central gardens, and the Old Fortress rises across the Contrafossa channel on the eastern side.

The site is not a museum and has no fixed visiting hours, so it is experienced by walking and sitting in the cafes. The architecture mixes Venetian, French and British elements, which mirrors the island's layered history, and the area has been maintained by the municipality as part of the UNESCO-listed Old Town. It continues to host parades, concerts and festivals, notably during Holy Week and the Easter processions. Cafes on the Liston operate from morning to late at night, and prices there are higher than in the back streets of the Old Town.