On the carnival's last Thursday evening, actors at the windows above Saint Spyridon's square trade the town's gossip in Corfiot dialect, as in Venetian times. Next: Thursday 11 March 2027.
When: The carnival's last Thursday, four days before Clean Monday. Where: Plakada tou Agiou, Saint Spyridon's square.
Satire from the balconies, in dialect, with songs.
Petegoletsa, from the Italian pettegolezzo, gossip, is street theatre: from the windows and balconies above the square, characters in costume swap the latest scandals of the island's politics and society in Corfiot dialect, with satirical songs and Ionian serenades. It grew out of the town's satirical streak, and the Corfu Events Organisation stages it every year; in 2023 it put the custom forward for Greece's inventory of intangible cultural heritage.
In the square, facing the windows.
The play happens above your head, so any spot in the square with a view of the upper floors will do. The square is small and fills quickly; at the back you hear more than you see.
Twenty minutes early for a good spot.
It began at 19:30 in 2025 and at 20:00 in 2026: check the carnival programme, which comes out in late January.
In Corfiot Greek: without it, come for the atmosphere.
The jokes are local and quick, in a dialect other Greeks find hard to follow, and the humour can be earthy; visitors without Greek still enjoy the music, the costumes and the crowd's laughter. It is free and out of doors: dress for a late-winter evening.
Checked on 14 November 2026.