Description
The church of the patron saint of the island is biggest that exists in the city. The foundation of the actual temple began in 1925 and was completed in 1948. The church was built with the plans of architect A.Orlandos. Observing the belfry we will find a lot of resemblances with the belfry of the church Saint Markos in Venice. Next to the church stands the monastery of St. Dionisios with the cells of the the nuns and the museum of the church .
The building was renovated in year 2000.
Due to its antiseismic construction, this building was one of the few that did not collapse from the earthquake of 1953. The few damages were fixed and in 1948 the temple was renovated to its his current form.
The church hosts the relics of the Saint, and apart from a source of force for the locals, its is also considered a great attraction for the visitors visitors. The patronal feast of Saint. Dionisios becomes twice a year and lasts three days each time. On the 24th of August, the church honors the transfer of the Holy Corps from the islands Strofades to Zakynthos Zante (1717) and on 17 December the church honors the memory of his death. (1622). The festive events end with a pomp and a papade of the relic around the city .
The church contains remarkable pieces of art, the most important of those being the icons on the temple which are silver-invested from the same artist (1829) and the representation of the litany which is found in the loft, hand maded by the nun Nikolaos Koutouzis
Another great piece to admire is the wood-carved temple which was saved from the Earthquake in 1953 , and together with the marvelous frescos of Koutouzis & Doxaras, give the church the imposing character it deserves. Most of the murals present scenes from the life of the Saint
Another impressing piece is the woo-carved and gold-plated room that hosts the Saint.
The most important and most precious work of art in the church, is the silver-gillted Reliquary that hoststhe holy corps, work of Gregorios Diamadis Bafas, created in 1829.
