Bella Venezia hotel review: a character-packed Corfu Town stay
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Score 7/10The neoclassical mansion has taken on various guises over the years, serving as a bank in the early 1900s and as a school for girls after the Second World War; it was the only building on its street to remain after the Germans bombed it in 1943. It started life in the 19th century as the private residence of a wealthy family, when luxurious balls hosted here were attended by leading figures of the time, and there remains a smattering of bygone opulence in the airy lobby, with its chequered flooring, plush cream chairs and marble-topped occasional tables. There's a hint of this in the 30 bedrooms too: high ceilings, textured gold-toned wallpaper, smart green shutters and bathrooms with marble-effect panels, elegant bowl-shaped basins and gold taps and shower heads. They're all average-sized; if you get the choice, opt for one of the rooms with a Juliet balcony overlooking the villa's garden.
Score n/a There's a glass-walled breakfast room in the garden, but most choose to sit in the garden itself to enjoy a breakfast of local cheeses and olives, traditional Corfiot fig pie, breads with homemade marmalade, bacon and sausages, and omelettes or fried eggs cooked to order. While there's no restaurant for lunch or dinner, there's no shortage of places to eat nearby, among them Porta Remounda (also known as Barbas, a lovely taverna specialising in mezze and other traditional dishes) and the ever-popular Pane e Souvlaki (serving grilled meat dishes at a motley assortment of tables arranged on the sloping pavement outside).
• More of the best hotels in Corfu• Best family hotels in Corfu
Score 6/10The facilities don't come thick and fast here — the listed status of the building doesn't allow for a pool or spa — but you're likely to be out and about in Corfu Town during the day anyway. The hotel's calling card is instead that wraparound garden, a restful area with a soothing lion's-head fountain and air thick with the bouquet of the wisteria and bougainvillea that blanket the pergola. You can laze in a wicker chair or have a game with the oversized outdoor chess set.
Score 7/10It's ideally positioned on one side of a quiet and leafy square just to the south of the old town. You can walk to the main hub of shops and restaurants in three or four minutes, while there are also two beaches easily accessible on foot: it's three minutes to Naok, the beach at the nautical club of Corfu, and just over ten minutes to Faliraki bathing beach.
Price B&B doubles from £127Restaurant n/aFamily-friendly YAccessible N
Adrian Phillips was a guest of Bella Venezia (bellaveneziahotel.com)
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Daily Mail
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- Daily Mail
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The Guardian
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Francis also moved swiftly on making key appointments, travelled to Brazil on his first overseas trip after just a few months in office, and made several bold statements, including saying 'who am I to judge?' when discussing homosexuality. Leo, on the other hand, has restored some Vatican customs – using less modest means of travel, living in the Apostolic Palace and resuming papal holidays in Castel Gandolfo. 'One of the ways the world got to know Francis was through his gestures,' said Christopher White, the author of the recently published book Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy. He described him as an extrovert who 'liked being around people'. Leo, 69, is an introvert. 'He's very much a quiet manager, someone who likes to do his homework,' added White. 'He hasn't yet made any top appointments but he has held lots of audiences – as a way to listen. He's figuring out how he's going to run the show and is keeping his cards close to his chest.' One area where he has been quick to exert himself is geopolitics, White said. The pontiff has twice met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has spoken by phone to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and has repeatedly affirmed the Vatican's willingness to host Ukrainian-Russian peace talks. He has also become more robust in his condemnation of Israel's war in Gaza, even more so after three people were killed by Israeli shelling of the strip's only Catholic church. The pontiff received a phone call from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after the strike, during which he pushed for an end to the conflict. Two days later, in his strongest words against the conflict yet, he condemned the 'barbarity' and Israel's 'indiscriminate use of force' after 93 people were killed while waiting for food. 'Leo is moving cautiously but he is more clear in his denunciation of the Israeli government,' said Marco Politi, a Vatican journalist and author of the book The Unfinished Revolution: The Church After Francis. 'This represents a problem for Israel because, unlike Francis, who might have been considered a bit reckless and gaffe-prone, it proves that nothing has changed in the Vatican's continued support of Palestinian rights.' Unlike the Jesuits, whose structure is more hierarchical, Politi said Leo clearly signalled how he would lead the church during his inauguration mass homily when he said the pope 'is not a lone leader or a leader placed above others'. This approach was evident when he handed the microphone to Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, to initially speak out after the attack on the Gaza church. 'He doesn't want to be like Francis who worked alone and who made decisions alone,' added Politi. Geopolitics aside, Leo's main initial task has been to foster unity in a church divided by some of Francis's policies. That said, his papacy is expected to more or less continue along the progressive path laid by his predecessor. 'We mustn't forget that during conclave, the ultra-conservatives wanted to put Francis's politics on trial,' said Politi. 'But they failed, and that's why Leo was chosen – to send a signal that the church is moving forward, not backward.'
