Byzantine Museum

Византийский музей на Корфу , собрание византийских и поствизантийских икон

Byzantine Museum in Corfu

In the Museum of Byzantine Art in the Temple of Antivouniotissa.
The Byzantine Museum of Corfu is one of the most important Byzantine museums in Greece and is located near the old town along Arseniou Street.

The museum is located in the Church of Our Lady of Antivouniotissa. This temple was built at the end of the 15th century and is one of the oldest and richest religious monuments in Corfu. For a long time the church building was privately owned and in 1979 it was donated to the state along with all the relics specifically for the establishment of a museum here. In 1984, after the necessary restoration, the church-museum was opened to the public.

The structure is a basilica with one nave and a wooden roof, which is typical of Corfu architecture of that time.

The museum collection contains an impressive collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons, both unknown and famous artists from the 15th-19th centuries. The museum houses magnificent icons by Emmanuel Lombardos. Also of particular interest are the masterpieces of Mikhail Damaskin, Emanuel Dzanes and Mikhail Avramis. One of the most important exhibits is the altar fabric, which was brought from Russia and donated to the museum by Nikiforos Theotokis. In the Byzantine Museum you can see wall frescoes (11-18 centuries) collected from different temples of Corfu. The museum also contains family relics of the founders of the church, sculptures of the early Christian period, old Gospels, manuscripts, clothes of priests and much more.

In June 1994, after the second stage of restoration work, the church-museum regained its former grandeur and was reopened to visitors (additional work was also carried out in 1999-2000). Today, the Byzantine Museum of Corfu is rightfully considered the most important historical and religious monument.

Opening hours: daily (except Monday) from 9.30 to 13.30