St Fotini Basilica Ruins, Karpathos, Greece

The early Christian basilica of Saint Fotini is one of the most interesting cultural monuments of Karpathos. Found by archaeologists in 1972, scientists suspect that the church is more than 1,500 years old. Thanks to the efforts of modern architects, the beautiful basilica was restored and can be admired by visitors in the area of Afoti, on the northern beach of Pigadia between the road to Aperi and the beach.

The ruins of the early Christian basilica from the 5th or 6th century are among the best preserved of the island. The basilica, built on the remains of a former ancient temple, is dedicated to the martyr Agia Fotini. Some marble columns with Christian symbols can still be admired.

According to Greek tradition, Fotini ('the enlightened one') is the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at Jacob's Well. She is worshiped as a saint and counted among the great martyrs and apostles. The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman is described in the Gospel of John (chapter 4).

References:

aegeantrails.com

Religious sites in Greece

Address

Karpathos, Greece

See all sites in Karpathos

Details

Founded: 5th century AD
Category: Religious sites in Greece

Rating

3.9/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Arkasa (8,6 km)
Vroukounta (32 km)
Ellinokamara (29,6 km)

User Reviews

Peter Lajoshazi (16 months ago)
Don't expect much from the tourist "attraction". But spend a few minutes at sunrise. There's a door on the fence, you can go in for free.

Johan81 (17 months ago)
A small site with ruins.. unfortunately not getting the love it deserves, trash and unkept surroundings somewhat dampen the feeling of the place ?

phil dawson (18 months ago)
Interesting but no signs or site info

Annamária (18 months ago)
Very nice ancient remains but very neglected… I like to walk among the ancient remains of Greece ? but I was really sad when I saw that first time… the local people should take better care of this… I saw sunrise from here many times and it was amazing ? You can go completely close to the ruins and worth it because those are beautiful, only around the ruins not nice ?

mac housley (3 years ago)
Stunning location

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Saint-Eustache

The Church of St Eustace was built between 1532-1632. St Eustace"s is considered a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The church’s reputation was strong enough of the time for it to be chosen as the location for a young Louis XIV to receive communion. Mozart also chose the sanctuary as the location for his mother’s funeral. Among those baptised here as children were Richelieu, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, future Madame de Pompadour and Molière, who was also married here in the 17th century. The last rites for Anne of Austria, Turenne and Mirabeau were pronounced within its walls. Marie de Gournay is buried there.

The origins of Saint Eustache date back to 13th century. The church became a parish church in 1223, thanks to a man named Jean Alais who achieved this by taxing the baskets of fish sold nearby, as granted by King Philip Augustus. To thank such divine generosity, Alais constructed a chapel dedicated to Sainte-Agnès, a Roman martyr.

St Fotini Basilica Ruins