The temple of Saint Spyridon

The temple of Saint Spyridon, one of the most important post Byzantine monuments of the town of Corfu, constitutes an attraction pole for the visitors of the town and the island of Corfu.

It is within easy reach, as you walk into the Old Town and down the street of Nikiforou Theotoki, while you have left the Liston behind you, you will come across the homonym square with the Holy Temple dominating at the back.

The exterior of the building is simple. It has a wooden roof of royal rhythm,once owned by the Voulgari family, that also owned the relics of the Saint, it looks more like the Christian temples of the West than the East, as the strict byzantine standards are missing, that are found on the mainland of Greece.

It is an event easily explained since Corfu was for many centuries occupied by Venetians and never met Ottoman occupation, characteristic of all the Ionian islands that have obtained the influence of the Italian revival and accordingly the art of the 17th century.

The shape of the roof is oblong and low as in all the temples of the Ionian islands, with an impressive tower belfry that assembles impressively the belfry of the temple of Saint George of the Greeks in Venice (San Giorgio dei Greci), with witch it was built during approximately the same time.

 When you walk in through the entrance your glance will be captured by the “ourania”(Urany), the roof of the temple, that consists of 17 golden panels on which scenes of the life of saint spyridon and of the Gospels are represented. The frames of the panels are authentic while the murals are copies of the originals, that Panagiotis Doksaras had painted in 1727. The murals, that were destroyed by the humidity, were replaced by Aspiotis in the 19th century.

The marble chancel screen of the temple, that almost touches the “ourania” (Urany), an artifact of the 20th century, was another characteristic of the Ionian architecture. It is to be noted that the old stone chancel screen of the temple was transferred to the temple of Saint George at the Old Fortress, a temple that has its own history. The relic of Saint Spyridon is kept in a silver luxury larnaxe, an artifact of the 19th century that is located at the right in the temple.

It is worth to be noted that the original temple was built in Sarokko but its demolition was necessary in order to extend the walls of the fortress. The current temple was built in 1589.

THE TEMPLE OF SAINT SPYRIDON CORFU