Moni Panagias Mauriotissas, Kastoria, Greece
In the city of Kastoria is the beautiful Byzantine monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa, next to the chapel of St. John the Theologian. The church of the monastery built in the 11th century and the chapel of St. John was built in the 19th century, ie post-Byzantine.
At the end of the 10th century the Normans had occupied for a short time Kastoria. The then emperor Alexios Komninos A ‘, I wanted to take her back. The way he thought he and his strtigoi to approach the city was by the lake. Then boarded the Byzantine army in boats and boats that were in the lake of Kastoria and in surrounding lakes and rivers and on the opposite side, think that at that time did not exist and the lakeside road, the Byzantine army crossed the lake and landed to the point where now stands the monastery was then a desert place. As the city of Kastoria has the shape of a peninsula, the Byzantine soldiers surrounded Kastoria and thus forced the Normans to retreat. This was considered a large Byzantine victory and a few years later Alexios built a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Visit Greece. Epic Greece Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
Own or work here?
