in charge of the police training school was looted by Italian soldiers. Mussolini in a speech denounced the Greek government for not understanding that "Corfu had been Venetian for four hundred years", before becoming part of Greece in 1864. Throughout the crisis, Mussolini kept stating that Corfu had been ruled by Venice in a manner that suggested he viewed Corfu as rightfully part of Italy rather than Greece under the grounds that Italy was the heir to the Most Serene Republic of Venice. One of the few groups in Italy who did object to the bombardment were the senior diplomats of the Palazzo Chigi who were not informed. Many of them, including Salvatore Contarini, the Permanent Secretary to the Foreign Minister, were on vacation on the day of the bombardment. During the crisis, Contarini together with Antonio Salandra, the Italian delegate to the League of Nations, and Romano Avezzana, the Italian ambassador to France, emerged as a force for moderation within the Italian government, constantly working to persuade Mussolini to drop his more extreme demands and to accept a compromise. Mussolini who only became prime minister on 28 October 1922, was determined to assert his power by proving that he was an unconventional leader who did not follow the normal rules of diplomacy, and the Corfu crisis was the first clash between Mussolini and the traditional elites in Italy, who while not objecting to imperialistic policies, disliked Il Duce'''s reckless style. At the time, Italy was engaging in negotiations with Britain for the cession of Jubaland in East Africa and Jarabub in North Africa to the Italian empire. From the viewpoint of the Palazzo Chigi, the success of these negotiations hinged in part on presenting Italy as a responsible partner to Britain, which was threatened by Mussolini's rash behavior such as the occupation of Corfu. Reactions after the bombardment and occupation of Corfu Following the incident, the Greek government proclaimed martial law throughout Greece. The Greek fleet was ordered to retire to the Gulf of Volos to avoid contact with the Italian fleet. In the Athens Cathedral, a solemn memorial service was held for the persons who were killed in the Corfu bombardment, and the bells of all of the churches were tolled continuously. After the service, demonstrations against Italy broke out.<ref name=NLA-78065994> "...on Monday a solemn memorial service was held in the cathedral for 12 persons who were killed