Stamatis Voulgaris

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Stamatis Voulgaris was the first urban planner of modern Greece. He was born in Lefkimmi (1779) in the island of Corfu.

An interesting incident led him to his decision to become an urban planner. During the Russian-Turkish siege (1799), the San Giacomo theater of Corfu was in peril of fire when a cannon ball that hadn't exploded landed next to him. Young Voulgaris immediately grabbed the fuse eliminating the danger. He saved thus, the theater and a whole French military detachment, which was passing nearby carrying heavy weaponry and ammunition. The French, in order to honor his bravery enlisted him in the guard and when they left, the young man followed them to Paris, where he studied urban planning. He excelled in engineering and painting.

He designed the city of Patras and the central square.