Andromonastiro

It’s worth visiting the renovated byzantine monastic complex, with its important history and great fortification architecture. It is located in Petralona and is about 43 km away from Kalamata.

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The byzantine Andromonastiro, or Monastery of Transfiguration of Christ, is of great fortification architecture. It was named like this in juxtaposition with the nearby convent of Samarina. It belongs to the Monastery of Vulcano, it was abandoned for a very long time, it has been renovated, and it’s now open to visitors. 

They used to associate the monastery’s foundation with Emperor Andronikos II Paleologos. However, according to archaeologists, this not true at all. 

Six or seven construction phases can be distinguished in the complex. The catholicon is a cross-in-square church with a dome. Fragments of wall paintings of the 12th and 17th century have been preserved, as well as parts of the sculpted screen and the opus sectile on the floor, dating back to the byzantine era, as well. On its north side, lies a chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine. 

The church is protected by a bailey, which in the NW corner is fortified by a four sided tower and other defensive structures. On the north-east side of the bailey, there are two storeys of cells, with ancillary and storage rooms on the ground floor, and a four sided three-storey tower on the south side. 

Source odysseus.culture.gr

It is located in Petralona and is about 43 km away from Kalamata.

Tel.: 27210 22534

Location

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