Two years past completion deadline, Villa Rosa remains construction site

Nicola De Michelis, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), visited the Villa Rosa construction site on Wednesday, 7 October, accompanied by Ionian Islands Regional Governor Yiannis Trepeklis. The visit brought renewed attention to a project that, under the original contract, should have been completed by June 2024. However, more than two years later, restoration work is still ongoing, with no new completion date announced.

Villa Rosa, one of the most distinctive examples of Corfu’s urban and industrial heritage, began construction in 1864 under Nikolaos Aspiotis. The complex, covering approximately 5.4 stremma (5,400 square metres), comprises the main villa, the old stables, an octagonal pavilion and auxiliary buildings, all designated as historic listed monuments.

As for the reference to the long-defunct Diocesan Conference Centre in Platitera, older readers will inevitably recall the prophetic 2001 film satire Brazilero, directed by Sotiris Goritsas. In the film, the character played by Stelios Mainas has received EU funding to build a cultural centre but uses the money, among other things, to buy a Brazilian footballer. Ten years later, two European auditors arrive looking for the project, and a tragicomic attempt to cover up what has happened begins. Any resemblance to actual people and situations is, of course, purely coincidental. Photo: Yiannis Trepeklis/FB

In 1997, Villa Rosa was purchased by the Greek state and, in 1999, transferred to the Corfu Prefectural Administration, with an obligation to restore it. More than twenty years of administrative procedures, studies and delays followed. The 2013 design tender was not completed due to objections, while a new contract was signed in 2017. The studies were completed in 2018 and approved in 2019.

In February 2020, the project was incorporated into the ESPA 2014–2020 funding programme, with a budget of €4.901 million. The construction contract was signed on 14 June 2022, under Regional Governor Rodi Kratsa, with M.T. ATE as the contractor and a contractual duration of 24 months.

The second deadline has also passed

As the project was not completed within the original funding period, it was transferred to the ESPA 2021–2027 programme as a second phase. The relevant funding approval decision was issued on 16 January 2025, with a budget of €3,786,161.27 and a completion deadline of 31 December 2025. This amount relates to the second funding phase and cannot automatically be added to the original budget as a cost overrun.

This deadline has also passed. The publicly available information on De Michelis's visit does not indicate the current percentage of completion or the latest approved extension. Nor does it clarify whether additional costs have arisen or when the restored complex is expected to be handed over for public use.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS