Kavallouri Mansion

Kavalouri in North Corfu resembles a watercolour painting. Sprawling the length of a ridge, its pastel-painted houses look out over the plains and hills to the north and the south. Somewhere along the main street, a long bordering wall hints at hidden mysteries. An arched gateway frames the house it cordons off from the rest of the village - a house which indeed could be a serene watercolour landscape by the great Greek artist Angelos Giallinas.
‘The Artist of Corfu’ as he is known, Angelos Giallinas (1857-1939) is the most celebrated painter of Corfu’s countryside, a painter whose work captured the soft light of the island. Much imitated (many present-day artists follow the style of the so-called ‘Giallinas School’) and very productive, his paintings hang in public and private collections all over the world, bringing the gentle warmth of the Corfu sun to other climes.
A canny businessman, Giallinas bought the Kavalouri mansion when it had to be put up for sale by its original owner,the Chalikiopoulos family. The gateway bears their coat of arms, but the house bears evidence of the artist’s presence.
Built in the mid sixteenth century, it consists of a long terrace which parallels the road on the other side of the wall. First is a little tower. Here the ‘Sagrado’ was in force, a custom under which wanted men could gain sanctuary from the law, and in turn would work for the Lord of the Manor. As you walk on, storerooms for olive oil and wine stretch along to the house itself, washed in fading ochre and coral shades, where an external stairway ascends to the ‘bodzo’, the covered veranda leading to the upstairs living quarters. The main door gives access to a large living room, decorated with murals depicting chivalric symbols. The master bedroom is reminiscent of Versailles, with a moulded archway defining the sleeping area, with its canopied brass bedstead. Three other bedrooms also contain some of their original furnishings. Down a flight of steps under the elegant dining room, the kitchen features a huge fireplace big enough to roast a whole lamb.
A second arched gateway leads through to the stables and olive press, roofless now, but still with its characteristic single-wheel press intact.
Gazing out from the house, Karrousades is visible on its ridge, a twin of Kavalouri’s geography. In the valley between stretches the estate, 18 acres of olive, fruit trees and pasture. Giallinas painted that view.
This mansion, steeped in history, is featured in the book ‘Noble Houses of Corfu’ by Despina Paisidou. One of the top properties in Corfu, if not in Greece (where Venetian mansions are rare), it is now for sale through Corfu Estate Agents (www.corfurealestate.com). The asking price, for which you could buy a modern home in a prestigious development near London, is 1,200,000 euro. A small price to pay for a piece of history, and a sanctum of art.