Zakynthos: MRA-GRC-Zak003

Within the Venetian Castle of Zakynthos, on the hill of Bohali, lie the remains of a small but significant 12th-century Byzantine church, commonly identified as the Church of the Saviour (Sotera or Pantokrator, later known in Latin sources as San Salvatore). The building predates the major Venetian fortification works and represents the earliest surviving architectural evidence of organised settlement on the site. Constructed during the Middle Byzantine period, the church originally served the local Orthodox community within a fortified hilltop town that developed gradually from the Komnenian era onwards. Following the Venetian occupation of Zakynthos in the late medieval period, the castle was transformed into a strategic military and administrative centre, yet the church remained in use, reflecting the continuity of Christian worship despite shifting political control. Its changing names illustrate the coexistence of Orthodox and Latin traditions under Venetian rule. Severe earthquakes in the twentieth century destroyed much of the castle’s built fabric, but the 12th-century church endures as a key monument for understanding the transition from Byzantine Zakynthos to the later Venetian stronghold.

Bibliographic sources
Koder, J., Byzantine Zakynthos and the Ionian Islands; Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Zakynthos: Monuments and History; Tsougarakis, D., Byzantine Crete and the Venetian Transition.

Further reading
Norwich, J. J., A History of Venice; Setton, K., The Papacy and the Levant; Wharton, A. J., Art of Empire: Byzantine Architecture on the Periphery.