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

Dave Grønvall (2 years ago)
A nice place. Not big. And maybe a info board whould have done the last bit.

sara nemeth (2 years ago)
So beautiful at sunrise. Easy to finde, next to the main road

Peter Lajoshazi (3 years 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 (3 years 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 (3 years ago)
Interesting but no signs or site info

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Mark1792

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.

St Fotini Basilica Ruins