The north side of the Spianada (esplanade) boasts possibly the most significant monument of the British era: the Palace of Archangel Michael & Saint George, a representative sample of British neoclassical architecture. The Palace was built during the years 1819–23, while Sir Thomas Maitland was serving as Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. Constructed under the supervision of engineer Sir George Whitmore, the Palace is a reflection of the power and glory of the British Empire. Its entrance is decorated by a Doric-order peristlyle (colonnade), featuring two majestic gates–imitations of Roman arches: the gate of Archangel Michael to the right and the gate of Saint George to the left. The building’s interior is decorated with notable sculptures and paintings, while the hall of the Throne and the hall of the Ionian Senate are open to visitors.
The palace served as residence of each respective British High Commissioner, as headquarters of the Commissionship’s administrative services, headquarters of the Battalion of Archangel Michael & Saint George, and residence of the Greek royal family until the beginning of the 20th century. To the east of the palace is the so-called ‘Garden of the People’, an open space for public walks and entertainment. Currently, the palace premises house the Museum of Asian Art and the Municipal Gallery.
- The Museum of Asian Art is the only museum in Greece exclusively dedicated to art and antiques of the Far East and India. It features 15,000 objects accessioned through donations from private collections. The museum was founded thanks to Grigorios Manos (1850–1928), an ambassador of Greece to Austria, who had compiled a collection of approximately 9,500 objects of Chinese, Korean and Japanese art. In 1919, he granted his collection to the Greek state, on the condition that a Museum of Sino-Japanese Art is established in Corfu. The museum now known as ‘Museum of Asian Art’ was eventually established in 1927 and gradually enriched with: objects from other important collections, such as that of Nikolaos Chatzivasileiou; exhibits from India; objects of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara (ancient Pakistan); objects from Cambodia, Siam (Thailand), Nepal, Tibet and Japan.
- The Municipal Gallery of Corfu was founded in 1991. The greatest part of its collection consists of works by Corfiot painters of the 19th century (Ch. Pachis, P. Prossalentis Jr., A. Giallinas, Vikentios Bokatsiambis, S. Skarvelis, L. Kogevinas, G. Samartzis, and several others), a time marked by some of the most representative artists of the Ionian Islands.