Church of Agios Spyridon

At the heart of the old city of Nafplio, at Kapodistriou street, is the church of Agios Spyridon, which has been connected with one of the most important στην historical events of modern Greece.

At the church’s entrance Ioannis Kapodistrias, who was on his way to the church, was murdered on the 27th of September 1831, by the sons of Petrobey Mavromichalis, Georgios and Konstantinos.

According to the surviving founding inscription the church was constructed in 1702, in the period of the 2nd Venice Occupation, under the expenses of the Orthodox residents of Nafplio. It is a cross-in-square church with an octagonal dome. On its eastern side there is a three-sided arch, next to which they built in 1853 the bell tower.

At its interior, the wall painting of the dome took place in 1902.

On the western wall there is a depiction of the 1st Ecumenical Council in Nicaea of Bithynia (325), where Saint Spyridon took part. Remarkable is the icon of St Varvara which relates to the salvation of the city by the plague that fell on it in 1928.

On the external wall of the church, at a special glass showcase next to the entrance, you can see where the bullet that hit Kapodistrias ended up on the wall.

The church celebrates in the 12th of December, the day of St Spyridon, while on the 4th of December the procession of the icon of St Varvara takes place with great honors.