Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest known production of wine took place in Armenia around 6000 years ago. Noah, the biblical Patriarch planted a vineyard on Mount Ararat after the flood, in a place that is not too far off from these archaeological digs. Persecuted Christians by the Turkish, fled Armenia in the 16th century, and found shelter and refuge in Corfu and built the village Armenades.

In 1937, the Armenian poet Konstantin Zarian, inspired by Corfiot wine and the town of Corfu, wrote poems "Corfu, the chimney-corner of the world"..

The fall of the Constantinople in 1453 brought to Corfu many families who in the following centuries had a prominent role not only in the course of history of Greece but also in the development of the new world.

In 1922 a new wave of refugees from Asia Minor and Armenia found shelter in Corfu.

Italy has found support and solidarity in Corfu in a number of cases: In 1849 the poets Giuseppe Regaldi and Niccolo Tomasseo (chased for their ideas) found refuge in Corfu where their friend and national poet of Greece Dionysios Solomos had already moved.

In April 1906, deadly earthquakes following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius struck Naples. The people of Corfu raised money (from Philharmonic concerts), which sent to to the Municipality of the city. The Neapolitans, in turn, in recognition of the help and solidarity of the Corfiots sent, paving slabs from the lava of Pompeii. These plaques still adorn the alleyways of the old town..

Serbia gave rise to the start of the World War I and Corfu granted asylum to Serbs in 1915 when they were expelled from their country by the Austrians and sought refuge..

Miguel Cervantes, the greatest writer of the Spanish language, in 1571 was hospitalized for six months in a rehabilitation unit in Corfu, after being seriously injured in the Battle of Nafpaktos.

In Spain, dictator Franco in 1963 condemned the award of the Prix Formentor International Literary Prize as a spiritual controversy against his regime and forbade its recurrenceon Spanish land, intellectuals sought refuge in Corfu. The place that hosted the shipwrecked Odysseus and was called the "island of salvation" by the Serbs, welcomed the European writers expelled by a tyrannical regime, showing its solidarity and support for the free European spirit.

Opening ceremony

17:00-20:00. Palace Gardens

Official greetings..

Music & Tastes from the honored areas [Armenia, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Crete, Epirus, & Asia Minor].

Exhibition of wines and local products from the Ionian Islands.

Corfu Cycling Wine Tour

10:00, Esplanade Square, Start

Start of a 60km cycling route in local wineries and vineyards across Corfu. There are 6 tasting stops in wineries and enterprises of local products.

14:00. Esplanade, Finish.

Awards. Buffet with Corfiot cuisine.

Wine Tourism Day

11:00-15:00. Palace Gardens

11:00-14:00. Conference. Buffet with local recipes.

14:00-15:00. Music Event. Wine in traditional music.

Ionian inspires Literature

18:00. History House

The Greek-American author Yvette Manessis Corporon is reading excerpts from her book “Something Beautiful Happened”.

Epirus in Corfu

20:00. History House

Open event with flavors and music from Epirus.

Crete in Corfu

19:00. Palace Gardens

Open event with flavors and music from Crete.

Ionian inspires

12:00. Ereikoussa Island

Presentation of the new book "Where the Wandering Ends" and the author's other books. Musical & culinary event with traditional songs.

Armenia in Corfu

19:00. Palace Gardens or Ionian Academy

Music and dance event with traditional songs and dances from Armenia.

20:00. Hotel Restaurant

A guest chef from Armenia presents recipes from Armenian Cuisine accompanied by traditional Armenian Music.

Serbia in Corfu

18:00. Palace Gardens or Ionian Academy

Musical Event dedicated to the hospitality of the Serbs in Corfu.

Premiere of the movie: "King Peter the First".

20:00. Hotel Restaurant

Guest chef from Serbia presents flavors inspired by Serbian Cuisine.

Italy in Corfu

18:00. The streets of solidarity: Guided tour of the old city streets paved with Pompeian lava slabs. Musical stops from Philharmonic sections.

20:00. Hotel Restaurant

Guest chef from Italy presents recipes inspired by Italian and Greek tradition.

From Constantinople to Corfu

20:00. Palace Gardens

Closing ceremony with flavors and music from Asia Minor.

November 2022

Conference on the theme of sustainability of solidarity and hospitality.

Charents Museum of Literature

Yerevan, Armenia [tbc]

Event dedicated to the Armenian poet Constant-Ivan Zarian, the excellent poet who connects Armenia with Corfu, Spain and all the Intellectuals of the early 20th century.

Event in Madrid, January 2023

I. Poetry & Wine event in collaboration with the GNTO office in Spain and an invitation to Fundación Formentor to hold the Prix Formentor literary competition in Corfu in 2023 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of hosting the 3rd Prix Formentor.

II. Emergence of wine relations between Spain and Greece: the case of Malvasia Wine.

III. Demonstration of local products from both countries.

Belgrade, February 2023

Musical event for Beethoven's 9th Symphony in a bombed out building.

Open Market or Conservatorio di Musica San Pietro a Majella

Naples, March 2023

Greek national composer Nikolaos Mantzaros with the famous Italian composer Niccolò Zingarelli developed in Naples the movement that later established as Heptanese School in Music. Eighty years later the musicians of Corfu raised money to strengthen and stood by the earthquake victims of Naples. In the same way Greek national poet Dionysios Solomos stood by the Italian fugitive poets Regaldi and Tomasseo, when he offered them refuge in Corfu. We celebrate these humanity stories of solidarity in Naples with a musical event that emphasizes the relations between the two cities.