“ Prehistoric grave-mounds are common on the hills of the interior, and in later times Curzola may have been a Phoenician settlement. Its early history is very obscure, but it was certainly colonized by Greeks from Cnidus. The present name is a corruption of the Gr. Κέρκυρα Μέλαινα, or Lat. Corcyra Nigra, “Black Corcyra”; and is perhaps due to the dark pines which still partly cover the island. In 998 Curzola first came under Venetian suzerainty. During the 12th century it was ruled by Hungary and Genoa in turn, and enjoyed a brief period of independence ”

“ The main resources of the islanders are boat-building (for which they are celebrated throughout the Adriatic) , fishing and seafaring, the cultivation of the vine, corn and olives, and breeding of mules. ”