Porta Spilea

The area of Spilia (Cave) owes its name to the small cave located at the foot of the hill of the New Fortress. The gate was placed at the edge of the sea wall and served the communication of the town with the port of Spilia. It is located at the bottom of and is part of the Army Barracks of Spilia. It is a three-storey L-shaped complex which had the capacity to house about 2,000 people. Although quite reconstructed, the Barracks are preserved until nowadays with roughly the same floor plan. The gate has a total length of 12 m. Entering is possible through two openings, a smaller rectangular opening and the main entrance which is arched. Both openings of the facade are decorated with chipped limestone of domestic origin, while the keystone at the apex of the arched opening in the direction of the town depicts the coat of arms of the extraordinary Proveditore of the Sea, Nicoló Erizzo (1784-1787). To the left and right of the arched entrance, there were spaces for the military garrison and the officer. The gate, as well as the entire complex, was reconstructed several times under British Protection. At the end of the 19th century, most of the sea wall was demolished and today Spilia gate looks like a simple entrance. References / Bibliography - Αγοροπούλου – Μπιρμπίλη Α., Η αρχιτεκτονική της πόλεως της Κέρκυρας κατά την περίοδο της Ενετοκρατίας, Αθήνα 1976. - Ρουγγέρη Ρ., Αναγνωστάκος Τ., Πόλη της Κέρκυρας, Περιηγητικός Οδηγός, Ιστορία-Πολιτισμός-Αρχιτεκτονική-Χρήσιμες Πληροφορίες, Πρόγραμμα Πολυπολιτιστικού Τουρισμού, Αναπτυξιακή Επιχείρηση Δήμου Κερκυραίων (ΑΝΕΔΚ), Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, Γενική Διεύθυνση XVI, «Πολιτισμός» ΕΤΠΑ, Άρθρο 10.