All about Zakynthos

The church of Theotokos Odigitria was built after 1527. Originally it was the property of the Parisi Family. Later (1586), it became the property of the Venetian State as jus patronato, which granted it to various persons. After the fall of Venice, the parishioners were granted the ministry of electing a vicar and commissioners, but with the obligation to renovate the church from the ground up. That took place in 1799-1801. One of the donors of the church was the family of Panagiotis Stefanos, member of the greek society "Filiki Etaireia". In 1845 and 1859 the bell tower, which had been damaged by the earthquake of 1840, was also renovated. In the upper zone of the Franco-Byzantine iconostasis there were seven icons by Ioannis Korais; the portable icons on the walls were also by the same artist. The Holy gates depicted Hierarchs, the work of an unknown person, and the Curtain depicted Christ praying, the work of Ant. Rifios. The despotic icons of the iconostasis were covered with silver reliefs, of which the Assumption of the Virgin and St. John the Baptist were the work of Diamantis Bafas. The despotic of the Theotokos Hodegetria was silver-plated by C. Arvanitopoulos (1789), as well as the silver-carved candelabra of the church. The icons of the monstrance were the work of N. Kantounis (1817) and the Last Supper by Ant. (1817). The church and the bell tower fell and were burnt in 1953. From the church only the old icon of Agios Fanourios and a candle survived. The painter Nikolaos Koutouzis served as pastor of the church.