Kyra Antivouniotissa, a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the best recognized and most important monumental churches in the city of Corfu, and was in use from as early as the 15th century. The name Antivouniotissa comes from from Antivouni, the hill where the church stands in the Kampielo area of Corfu town. It is the oldest, most complete and best preserved example of an Ionian basilica .

The church complex at Antivouniotissa consists of the nave, three narthexes , the precincts and bell tower, and a two-storey building to the east. The church is simple and austere on the exterior, in stark contrast to the sumptuous and imposing decoration inside. The main entrance is on the north side. The body of the church is a single nave measuring 20 metres by 9, classified as a tiled, timber-roofed saddleback basilica . The raised sanctuary ends in three apses to the east. The narthex is formed by a pi-shaped gallery with a lower sloping wooden roof built around the north, west and south sides of the nave. This area and the nave were used for burials, in accordance with the custom of the times. A women’s gallery built over the western narthex belongs to a second phase. One characteristic feature οf the interior decoration in Antivouniotissa is the carved gilded ceiling attached to the wooden roof, which shows influence from Venetian Baroque.

The church was privately owned, but was donated to the Greek government in 1979 on condition that it serve as a museum. The exhibition design was completed following restoration work in 1984, 1994 and 1999-2000, and Antivouniotissa now houses a substantial collection of icons and relics. This includes important works by well-known and anonymous artists from the 15^th to the 20^th century, fully representing six hundred years of religious expression and artistic creation in Corfu and the wider Ionian Islands. As a church-cum-museum it has never lost its sacred character, as feasts of the Virgin Mary are celebrated there twice a year, on December 26th and August 23rd. Antivouniotissa is the only instance of a church-museum in Greece, harmoniously combining two functions in the same monumental space.