Aghia Isidore

Location

A later, small church with a low cement roof has partly covered today the remains of the Early Christian basilica. Mosaic floors decorated with geometric patterns and many relief architectural parts are preserved in the basilica. There is also a subterranean vaulted crypt inside the church where the relics of Saint Isidore and Saint Myrope (who martyred in Chios during the Early Christian period) were once kept.

The Early Christian basilica of St. Isidore was built on the remains of an earlier Roman structure. According to tradition, the church was built during the reign of Constantine IV Pogonatos, in the second half of the 7th century. It has undergone several repairs in the course of its long history, probably during the Frankish occupation, in the late Byzantine period and in modern times. Five architectural phases - the earliest of which dates to the 5th century - have been distinguished in the building, which was finally ruined by the earthquake of 1881.

G. Soteriou had made the first excavation research on the site in 1918, continued by A. Orlandos, in 1928. Excavations were also conducted in the summer of 1981 and 1982, by the 3rd Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.

It is always open.