The monastery of Malevi or the Dormition of the Virgin, is one of the three most important monasteries in the Kynouria province, together with Loukou and Elona. The monastery is located on a wooded slope surrounded by fir trees, eight kilometres from the town of Xerokampi, 47 kilometres from Tripoli and 30 kilometres from Astros.
The first Malevis Monastery was built on a high place called Malevou which is now called Kanala in the isolated and trackless forests of Malevou. The chronical book of the monks states that the first monastery was founded in 717 AD, but a year later all of the Monks died, and the final monk, seeing his inevitable end, left a hidden message of what transpired. From that time other monks decided to leave this monastery and re-build the monastery at another, lower location.
There are many icons of Panagia throughout the centuries that have been shown miraculous by the Grace of Christ and the Theotokos and for over forty years, the ancient Icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos (called Panagia Malevi) has been exuding Holy Myrrh which is intensely fragrant and has helped work many, many miracles throughout the world.
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.