When I was recently invited by Sapphire Real Estate to join a group for a visit to Corfu to explore the investment potential for Maltese investors, I was rather sceptical. I knew practically nothing about this island and considered the cheap rates to travel there, compared with other destinations, as an indication of the level of the island. I was in for quite a surprise.

After my initial meetings with some prominent people on the island, I was pleasantly surprised with the similarities, the immense connections between Malta and Corfu in the past, the legacies which live on today as a result, and how proud these people are of this fact. From our part, we seem to have left these connections in our history books and totally forgot about them.

Everywhere you go one can see some shops bearing “Maltese” surnames, hotels named after Malta or bearing Maltese surnames (Hotel Maltezos and Hotel Debono are only two of many), and tourist guide books proudly stating that some of the main historical buildings on the island were built with Maltese stone by Maltese stone masons.

The new Mayor of Corfu (who was incidentally elected while on our trip on the island and maybe our influence on the electorate contributed to his success!) is of Maltese descent. His name is Sotiris Michalef (Saviour Micallef). Though we could not meet him personally at the time since he was busy after being elected, he is well aware of the new interest being shown by the Maltese in this island and my contacts in Corfu assure me that he is more than willing to further these ties. Local councils please note.

The Catholic Bishop is Iannis Spitieris (John Spiteri). In a country which is almost exclusively Orthodox in religion, the fact that Corfu has a Catholic community, most of whom are descendants of Maltese emigrants, is testimony to

the vigour of the ancestral legacy.

A look at the history of both islands brings us to a common point of reference – the British, particularly Sir Thomas Maitland. He was the Governor of Malta and was subsequently appointed as the first Lord High Commissioner for the Ionian Islands, including the islands of Cyprus, Corfu, Constantinople and Smyrna. Although the Maltese historical connections with all these islands is very interesting, particularly with Cyprus, I shall limit myself to the island of Corfu.

The British wanted to entice Maltese emigrants to obtain reliable workers to help in agriculture and the building trade, and also to strengthen their hold on the islands. When Sir Thomas Maitland arrived in Corfu he decided to fortify the old Venetian Fortress with new quarters, build a new prison, and also a palace at the town square (which is today the Asian Arts Museum). The palace also served as the seat of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. Eventually he also ordered the building of the Mansion of Michelangelo, and other buildings in Corfu. For this, Maitland needed the famous glowing Maltese stone. Concurrently he also required the services of local Maltese skilled workers which he knew he could rely on since he was already familiar with their work in Malta. Between 1815 and 1860 he took about 80 people from Malta to Corfu, consisting of 40 stone masons and their wives. His intention was that they would settle there and their work could be continued by their children. Apart from these initial 80 people sent to Corfu, other Maltese who had been sent to the other Ionian Islands moved between the islands themselves.

The Maltese in Corfu settled in an area to the west of San Rocco Square and south of Mandouki, in the area of Platytera, Koulines and Solari. By 1901 there were already close to 1,000 people of Maltese descent in Corfu. The number soared even if Maltese emigration to these islands practically ceased after the union with Greece in 1864. A number of Maltese families, especially the Atzopardis (Azzopardi) clan, left Corfu after the union with Greece and settled in Cardiff, Wales. Their descendants still live there today. Some of them subsequently returned to Corfu in the 1920s and they are today known in Corfu as the “Cardiff Corfiots”.

By 1930 the Maltese Corfiots had their own priest who looked after their welfare while he kept useful contacts with the ecclesiastical and civil authorities in Malta. The priest was the Reverend Spiridione Cilia who was born in Corfu to Maltese parents.

The Maltese Corfiots today number more than 3,500 – a substantial increase from the initial 80. Considering that there are only about 100,000 Corfiots on the island, this is quite a high percentage.

The Maltese Corfiots still mainly occupy a region informally known as “Maltezika” (Malta) and “Cozella” (Gozo). It is here that the Catholic Cemetery is located, as well as a Cappuchin Monastery, and a convent and school which was founded in 1907 by the Franciscan Sisters of Malta.

Surnames which are very common in Corfu are Psailas (Psaila), Spitieris (Spiteri), Atzopardis (Azzopardi), Soueref (Xuereb), Alamanos (Alamango), Sakkos (Sacco) and Michalef (Micallef).

Psaila, with its derivatives Psailas, Pisalja, Psayla, Psaijla and Bisaile, is the most common among the Maltese Corfiots and there are more than 800 in the Psailas clan of Corfu. The first Psaila to set foot on the island seems to have been a certain Alfred Psaila from Siggiewi who had initially been sent by Sir Thomas Maitland to Cephalonia but moved to Corfu in 1845. He married there, had a son named Nicolo Psailas, who in turn had eight children. One of the most popular Psailas in Corfu was Dun Nicolo Psaila who was the Father of the Catholic Church in Corfu. He was born in Corfu in 1911 and died there in 1974. He was the most grand and the most famous priest of the Catholic Church in Corfu and was loved by all, including the Orthodox. The Psailas clan includes George Psailas who is the top veteran ultra-distance runner in Greece, and one of the best in Europe.

The historical connection between Malta and Corfu is not the only similarity. Corfu, which is only a one-hour flight away from Malta, is 56km long and 13km wide, making it just over twice the size of Malta. The climate is very similar to ours, with the exception that it is much greener than Malta (having over four million olive trees planted by the Venetians which are protected religiously), has many hills (its highest point is about 900m above sea level). It is surrounded by glorious beaches (31 of which are blue flag) and some of which are only accessible by boat. Its inhabitants live a slow, relaxed pace of life typified by avro – it can wait until tomorrow (more like Malta some 15 years ago). There exists a café culture and the local people are as friendly and hospitable as the Maltese. Like us they love the outdoor life especially sailing between the islands. The food is also very good. All the above, and more, make the possibility of local council twinning agreements something to look into.

There is also a strong property investment market which attracts particularly the British (there are over 10,000 British who live in Corfu), Danish (about 3,000), German (about 4,000), and mainland Greek who purchase summer residences on the Ionian Islands. Their building regulations are more environmentally conscious than ours and their style of building is very minimalist, both in regard to permissible building percentage and to height.

The island requires some infrastructural improvements, particularly in the road network, sewage, water supply, and general upgrading of the resort areas. The “it can wait until tomorrow” syndrome seems to affect business people as well. I am sure they argue that if they are doing fine as they are, why upgrade? Having met some business people in Corfu myself I came to understand that they are not too keen on taking loans and paying interests so they first save up the amount required to do the upgrading, and once saved, they do it!

The flaws in the infrastructure make the island, in my opinion, ideal for medium-term investment purposes because prices for property in Corfu are still among the cheapest in Europe. Prices in like-to-like comparisons with French or Spanish property can be up to 50 per cent lower. The advantages of investing here are countless clean, beautiful beaches, a small size and hence short distances, a perfect four-season climate, a low crime rate (the lowest in Europe), a stable economy and long-standing EU membership, lack of internal strife, ancient history and world-renowned culture, an all-round very high quality of life and untapped potential of winter tourism, a nationwide land registry in progress which, upon completion will greatly simplify the home-buying process, improvements in the leisure industry, such as golf courses which are gaining in popularity and becoming the highly marketable focal point of many new developments.

The property market in the last 10 years has enjoyed steady growth rates of 8-12 per cent and the Greek economy is notably one of the fastest growing in the euro zone.

These advantages in investment potential have enticed people like the Rothschild family, the Agnelli family, and more recently, Roman Abramovich, to invest in Corfu.

Ironically, just as happened in the past, I believe that Corfu now needs another dose of Maltese influence in upgrading its infrastructure and in the property investment market.

EU citizens are free to purchase property in Corfu in their own name without any need for permits but it is advisable to seek the services of competent lawyers in order to assist in the purchase of property since the procedures, though safe, are bureaucratic.

The legal system is very similar to ours and offers the same guarantees which we are used to in Malta.

The views expressed in this article are for information purposes only and are obtained from various sources and are not meant as investment or legal advice. The services of qualified professionals is to be sought prior to investment.

Acknowledgements: www.maltamigration.com www.propertygreece.com

www.justlanded.com