Greece - Preveza, Metropolitan church of Saint Charalambos

The Metropolitan church of Saint Charalambos (Agios Charalambos) was built between 1715 and 1717 - when Preveza was still under Ottoman occupation - on the location of an older church. It is built in the style of a single-space basilica, but the later interventions and additions have changed its initial shape. On the eastern side they have walled-in a Roman sarcophagus from Nicopolis, in order to be used as a fountain. On the south-eastern side of the church, a later dated tower-shaped bell tower has also been added.

The painted decorations of the temple include great oil-paintings which cover the side walls and the wooden roof. These paintings are copies of religious works of art by great European artists. Of exceptional quality is the wooden-carved iconostasis of the church, which was constructed by a craftsman from Epirus in 1827 and was gold-plated in 1836. The pulpit, the archieratic throne and some of the portable icons are also of great artistic value.

The church is located - a little bit hidden by the Venetian tower - at the pedestrian zone of the historical center of Preveza (PiP3).