Skripero is the main village of the Gyrou or Agyrou region in the northwest of the island. It is the first mountain village on the provincial road leading from Corfu to Sidari, 18 km away from the town of Corfu. Skripero is famous for its old mansions and its local music tradition, with the Skriperos Philharmonic Club being in operation for more than a hundred years. It is built on the slopes of the small mountain Korakio and offers a panoramic view of the wider region from the so-called "Panochori", one of its highest points. The remarkable monument of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Vlachernon, a stone-walled building from the 18th century, is located in Skripero. Regarding the name of Skriperos there are two possible explanations. The first and most popular one says that the name derives from the Albanian word skrip which means hillside, while the second one supports that it comes from the Italian word scrivere which means ‘to write’ and refers to the time when Scripero was the capital of the island and the headquarters of its administrative services.