Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands 1809, Great Britain took possession of all the islands with the exception of Corfu and Paxos, which was only surrendered in 1814. In 1815, the Ionian Islands became a British protectorate under the name United States of the Ionian Islands. The civil and military governor of the Ionian Islands was the "Provveditore generale da Mar", who lived on Corfu and had the supreme peacetime command of the Venetian navy. In wartime, due to his absence at the head of the fleet, he was sometimes replaced by a "Provveditore generale delle Tre Isole" ("Superintendent general of the Three Islands"), referring to
Music of the Heptanese western and Catholic influences on the Orthodox rite. The region is also notable for the birth of the first School of modern Greek classical music (Heptanesean or Ionian School, Greek: Επτανησιακή Σχολή), established in 1815. Folk dances of the islands include: Music of the Heptanese The music of the Heptanese is the folk music of the geographic and historical region of the Ionian Islands. It is based a lot on the western European style. It is dominant the use of guitars and mandolins, while the "kantadhes" (romantic serenades from the Ionian Islands) are very popular. The island of Zakynthos has