Maitland Rotunda

The Peristyle of Maitland / Maitland Monument is located in the southern part of Spianada Square. It is a neoclassical monument in the form of a circular, single-columned church with twenty Ionic columns, built in 1816 in honour of the first British Commissioner, Thomas Maitland (1760-1824). At the same spot there was the Venetian cistern of Pano Plateia (Upper Square), the so-called Gradenigo's Cistern (named after the Captain General of the Sea (Provveditore Generale da Mar) Giacomo Gradenigo), the largest in the city, built in 1781. The two entrances of the Peristyle allowed access to the water reservoir. The original monument in honour of the British Commissioner was designed as a triumphal arch in accordance with the resolution by forty-six Corfiot nobles on 25 October 1816. The construction of this monument was cancelled and in its place the Peristyle was erected which survives to this day. The Peristyle was designed by the architect Colonel George Whitmore (1775-1862) and constructed of porphyry stone from Malta where Maitland also held the rank of commissioner. The sculptural decoration of the monument was made by the Corfiot sculptor Pavlos Prosalentis (1784-1837). Atop the monument there is a circular inscription mentioning the following: «ΕΙΣ ΜΝΕΙΑΝ ΑΙΣΙΟΥ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ ΕΠΑΝΟΔΟΥ ΕΚ ΜΕΓΑΛΗΣ ΒΡΕΤΑΝΝΙΑΣ ΘΩΜΑ ΜΑΙΤΛΑΝΔΟΥ ΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΡΩΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΟΥ ΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑΤΟΣ ΝΗΣΩΝ ΙΟΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΑΙ ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑΙΟΙ ΑΝΕΣΤΗΣΑΝ ΕΤΕΙ ΣΩΤ ΑΩΙΣΤ». In 2004, restoration work was carried out on the monument. References: Δημακόπουλος, Ι.: «Το ανάκτορο των Αγίων Μιχαήλ και Γεωργίου» στο Concina, E. και Νικηφόρου-Testone, A.: Κέρκυρα: Ιστορία, αστική ζωή και αρχιτεκτονική 14ος-19ος αι., Κέρκυρα 1994, σελ. 106.