The Church of Saint Spyridon (Agios Spyridonas) stands on a narrow lane of Corfu's old town, one block behind the Liston arcades, and its bell tower is the tallest in the Ionian Islands. Inside lie the relics of Saint Spyridon, a 4th-century bishop from Cyprus whom Corfiots regard as the island's protector. Four times a year his body is carried through the town in a procession led by the island's philharmonic bands.
Saint Spyridon Church at a glance
- Where: Agiou Spyridonos Street in the old town of Corfu, a few steps behind the Liston and the Spianada.
- Built: completed in 1589; the bell tower was finished in 1620.
- What it is today: a working Greek Orthodox church and the most important place of pilgrimage on the island, open to visitors outside services.
- Time needed: 15–20 minutes, longer if you join the queue to venerate the relics.
From Cyprus to Corfu: how the relics arrived
Spyridon was a shepherd who became bishop of Trimythous in Cyprus and died in the 4th century. His remains were later taken to Constantinople. After the city fell to the Ottomans in 1453, a Corfiot priest, Georgios Kalochairetis, brought them to Corfu in the second half of the 15th century, together with the relics of Saint Theodora, a Byzantine empress. Through inheritance and a dowry the relics passed to the Voulgaris, a Corfiot noble family, who kept them until 1925.
The family first built a church for the saint in the suburb of San Rocco, outside the walls. When the Venetians strengthened the town's defences in the 16th century, that church had to be pulled down, and the relics moved to the new church inside the walls, completed in 1589. Its bell tower, finished in 1620, resembles that of San Giorgio dei Greci, the Greek Orthodox church in Venice. In 1727 the painter Panagiotis Doxaras covered the ceiling with scenes from the saint's life; the paintings later deteriorated and were replaced by copies by Nikolaos Aspiotis, but Doxaras's gilded frame survives.
What to look for
- The bell tower: the tallest in the Ionian Islands and a landmark you will spot from many corners of the old town, a sign of Venetian taste on a Greek church.
- The relic chapel: to the right of the altar screen, the saint lies in a richly decorated casket in a small chapel, with dozens of gold and silver lamps hanging from the ceiling above it.
- The ceiling: the scenes of the saint's life and miracles, framed by the gilded border that survives from Doxaras's work of 1727.
- The marble altar screen (iconostasis): its front is designed like the façade of a baroque church, unusual in Greek Orthodox churches.
- The Venetian lamps: two large lamps given as thanks after the Ottoman siege of 1716, one by the Venetian Senate and a larger one, in 1717, by Admiral Andrea Pisani and other Venetian commanders.
The saint who walks at night
Corfiots say their saint does not stay in his casket. According to tradition he walks the island at night to help those in need, which is why his embroidered slippers are said to wear out and are changed from time to time; the inner casket even has a removable bottom for the purpose. The processions mix history and faith: on Palm Sunday and the first Sunday in November they recall the island's escape from plague in the 17th century, on Holy Saturday its escape from famine in the 16th century, and on 11 August the end of the Ottoman siege of 1716. His feast day is 12 December, and many Corfiot men are named Spyros after him.
Tips for your visit
- Dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered. It is a working church: keep your voice low and follow the signs about photography inside.
- Come early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the lane in front of the church is quieter.
- If you are in Corfu on a procession day, find a spot along the Spianada or the Liston early: the whole town turns out, together with the philharmonic bands.
Nearby
- The Liston: the arcaded promenade built under French rule in the early 19th century, a minute away, with cafés facing the Spianada.
- Spianada: Corfu's great open square, with the cricket ground and the Maitland Rotunda, just beyond the Liston.
- Old Fortress: the Venetian fortress on its headland across the sea moat, which held out during the siege of 1716 remembered in the August procession.
- Campiello: the oldest quarter of the old town, a maze of narrow lanes and stairways a few minutes' walk north of the church.
See Corfu with World City Trail
Our Corfu scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 26 minutes of walking. It includes the Spianada and the Liston arcades, a minute from the church. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch or Greek.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Corfu.
Play the Corfu scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Corfu →
Play the outdoor escape game in Corfu →
Facts checked in October 2026.