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Panagia Antivouniotissa

The church of Panagia Antivouniotissa, an edifice of the 15th century, is one of the oldest of the Old City  of Corfu. The church is devoted to the «Most Holy Theotokos Kyra Antivouniotissa» and is single spaced basilica, with wooden roof, while the narthex surrounds the church from its three sides.

The iconostasis made of stone, the religious paintings that decorate the walls and also the ceiling of the church, are some of the elements that make Panagia Antivouniotissa, one of greatest monuments of Corfu.

Even though testimonies suggest that perhaps in the beginning it was devoted to someone else, it soon became clear that Panagia Antivouniotissa celebrates the Theotokos of «Sergeant Majors», which is honored by the orthodox Church on the 26th of December, a feast which is also known as Synaksis of Theotokos.

The name Panagia Antivouniotissa comes from the place-name of the region where, the church is located. It is the hill Antivouni in Campiello of Corfu, while, in combination with the time it was built, we conclude that it was one of the first churches, which were built in «borgo», meaning outside the Old Fortress, long before the Venetians built the New one. Besides, the opposite hill, Ovriobouni, was a Jewish district, before it was moved to the outskirts of the New Fortress at the end of the 16th century.

From 1984, Panagia Antivouniotissa operates as an Ecclesiastical Museum, with a rich collection of icons and other religious relics.

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