Early Christian Basilica of Saint Kerkyra, Corfu

Saint Kerkyra, the first woman martyred in Corfu, wears a crown and holds a scepter in a painting in the monastery of Mount Pantocrator. Daughter of Cercillinus, the Roman governor, she was killed by her father in 70 AD. Celebrated as a martyr-saint, she guards hidden treasures in the catacombs of the early Christian Basilica in Corfu.

The early Christian basilica dedicated to Saint Kerkyra is near the estate of Mon Repos ("My Rest"), the old summer retreat of King George I of the Hellenes. The Byzantine basilica was built sometime before 450 AD on a site chosen by Jovian, Bishop of Corfu. It had been the location of a Roman odeum, used for performances of music and poetry.

The basilica, now in ruins, had two aisles and a central nave. It was a hall-type structure covered with a wooden roof. It suffered destruction several times by Vandals and Goths in the 6th century, Saracens and Normans in the 11th century, and the Turks in 1537.

Rebuilt in the 11th century and again in 1680, it had three aisles and a narthex. The basilica was destroyed again in the bombing raids of World War II. In 1968, the early architectural parts were stored in the Old Palace Museum. The mosaic floor was restored in 1960 and 1968. Only bits of the apse and walls remain on site today.