The first church of Saint Dionysios was built in 1708 and was replaced by a bigger building in 1764. A series of earthquakes in early 1893 resulted in its complete destruction. It took almost four decades to raise the funds for a new church. Queen Olga, archbishops, monks, aristocrats, school children, soldiers, immigrants, and passengers of ships visiting Zakynthos contributed whatever they could to the project. The church was designed by Anastasios Orlandos as a three-aisled basilica. The foundations were laid in 1925 and the church was completed in 1948. The architect employed various measures to protect the church against an earthquake, so the building suffered only minor damages in the 1953 devastation.