Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the impact that the founding of the University of Athens (1837) had on the studies of young people from the Ionian Islands, and the ideological and political significance that it gained both from them and from the newly formed Greek state. In order to analyze the issue in more detail, Ionian studies are examined through the period of Venetian rule. As Venetian possessions, the islands developed a fruitful cultural dialogue with the metropolis. In this context, the Flanginian School in Venice and the University of Padua were the institutions where Ionian Venetian subjects continued their studies after receiving basic education in their respective homelands. At the end of the 18th century, despite the end of Venetian rule and its succession by French, Russian, Ottoman, and finally British rule, Ionian studies in Italy continued. During British rule, the Ionic Academy in Corfu was founded in 1824 at the initiative of the philhellenic Count Guilford, but it did not manage to survive in the national state, as its establishment and operation were closely linked to British rule. In 1865, the Law no 108 signaled the end of the delivery of courses at the Academy. Now, the Ionians’ direction as Greek subjects in the supreme educational institution on Greek soil was what led to their studies at the University of Athens.