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Ruins of the early Christian Basilica of Paleopolis, Corfu.

Paleopolis, the ancient city of Corfu, is located to the south of the modern city, opposite to the estate of Mon Repos. The Byzantine basilica was built before 450 A.D., on the ruins of a Roman odeum, by Bishop of Corfu, Jovian. The building was a majestic early Christian basilica, with two aisles on each side of the nave and covered by a timber roof. The church was richly decorated with sculptures and a mosaic floor, and was one of the largest basilicas in Greece. It was destroyed several times: by the Vandals and Goths in the 6th century, by the Saracenes and the Normans in the 11th century, by the Turks in 1537 and, finally, by the air raids during the Second World War. It was rebuilt twice: after its destruction in the 11th century, with three aisles and a narthex, and again, in 1680, by the Cretan monk Arsenios Caloudis. In 1968, all the early Christian architectural parts, parapets, capitals etc., were collected and stored in the Old Palace Museum. The mosaics of the church were restored in 1960 and 1969.