The Kardaki Water Spring is an ancient fountain built on the shore of the Ionian Sea, at the southern edge of the Mon Repos Estate.
The name Kardaki is thought to have been derived from the Venetian word vardia (guard), because the Analipsis Hill where the spring is located, provided a great observation point over the Channel of Corfu and was manned by a guard.
The Kardaki Water Spring had been an important source of water for ships during the Venetian era, but under British rule, a landslide caused the water to stop flowing in 1822. When engineers started digging to find the cause of the blockage, they accidentally discovered the ancient Temple of Kardaki, which they named after the spring.
After the reparations of the spring were completed in 1898, a commemorative plaque was installed above the spring. Another plaque was later installed with a verse by Lorenzos Mavilis: “Golden waters, I see you because the waters from the cold tap bewitches me, which surely runs from the holy ground. Therefore some God has decreed, And whichever foreigner wets his lips To his homeland he will never return.”
