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The Monastery of Artamitis is the most important place of worship for the villagers and it is about 7.5km north of Agios Isidoros. The monastery took its name from an ancient temple dedicated to Artemis, goddess of hunting, wild nature and fertility, which once stood in the area. The monastery was built in the 9th century by an Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, and in more modern times, it served as a centre for scholars and writers, a permanent gathering place for the intelligentsia.
The monastery played an important role during the Turkish occupation as these thinkers inspired the morally-wounded inhabitants by keeping the flame of the Greek spirit alive during the dark years of the enslavement. Sadly, the monastery suffered a marked decline from the 18th century onwards, as it drew fewer and fewer scholars. Then, as a result of raids and earthquakes, the original building was damaged and had to be completely rebuilt in 1859.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.