This square takes its name from the figure who above all others is synonymous with the history of the city: Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of the modern Greek state.

More or less on the spot now occupied by the park today there was the bastion of Dolfin, or San Marco, which was demolished as part of the wider demolition of the walls and bastions of the lower city.

Born in Corfu in 1776, Ioannis Kapodistrias was the son of a noble family. He studied medicine in Italy, but was finally won over by politics and diplomacy. For many years he was at the forefront of European diplomacy, chiefly as the Russian Minister of the Exterior, during which time he was able to give timely assistance to the Greek struggle for indePentence.

In April 1827, the 3rd National Congress elected him as governor of the country for a period of 7 years, and he landed in Nauplion, the then capitol, on 8th January 1828. He governed the newly constituted Greek state for 3 years and 8 months, until 27th September 1831, when he was murdered outside the church of Aghios Spiridonas.

His career as governor was bright, and it is not by chance that he is considered one of the greatest politicians in Greek History.

The exact location of the Kapodistrias Square can be found in Section Map.