The San Giacomo Theater is a historic building and former theater and town hall located in the historic old center of Corfu Town. It is named after the Cathedral of Saints Jacob and Christopher (San Giacomo and San Cristoforo in Latin) next to it.
The theater was built in 1691 and initially served as a meeting place for the Venetian nobles of Corfu. In 1720 the building was converted into the first modern theater in Greece. Since 1733 the theater not only staged theatrical plays but also functioned as an opera house. The theater was the center for the creation of the Ionian Music School and its influence attracted many Italian composers and performers to Corfu.
The last performances in the theater took place in 1892 and in 1902 the Municipal Theater of Corfu took over its role. In 1903 the former theater building was turned into a town hall. In 1943 the building got severely damaged during the German bombing of World War II, which also destroyed the theatrical archives. Nowadays the building of the former San Giacomo Theater hosts a tourist information center and several shops.
