Peribleptos Monastery

The Peribleptos Monastery is a late Byzantine-era monastery in Mystras, Greece. It was probably built in the mid-14th century by the first Despot of the Morea, Manuel Kantakouzenos, and named after one of the most celebrated monasteries of Byzantine Constantinople. The Monastery is built into the side of a cliff with a cave supporting the structure. This architectural style is known as the Mystras style and is prevalent in several churches and monasteries in the area, this style is typified by a resemblance to a castle. It is constructed of squared stones with inlaid tiles. The complexity and unique variations of the shape of the structure of the exterior create an interior surface inside the monastery that lends itself to the ethereal quality of the frescoes covering the walls.

The frescos in the main church, dating between 1348 and 1380, are a very rare surviving late Byzantine cycle, are crucial for the understanding of Byzantine art. These works have been connected with the Cretan and Macedonian art schools.

The relics include a fresco of Saint John the Baptist in a scene of The Baptism of Christ. Another notable relic is the head of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Unnamed Road, Mystras, Greece

Details

Founded: c. 1348
Category: Religious sites in Greece