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The church of Hagios Ioannis o Eleemon close to present-day Ligourio village was, according to a surviving inscription, the katholikon of a monastery founded by a certain Theofylaktos from the island of Kea. It is a distyle cross-in-square church with dome, and the narthex is a later addition. Worth noting in the church plan are the absidioles on the west façade of the two west solid piers as well as the two arched proskynitaria that flank the Main Gate of the holy bema. The dome is a simplified version of the so-called ‘Athenian type’ with four windows instead of eight and no colonnades in between. Regular cloisonné, not of the finest type though, has been used for the walling. Ancient and early Christian spolia, ceramic inserts arranged in a continuous frieze on the west side as well as various curved porous elements, enliven the exterior. The monument suffered extensive damage particularly to the dome and the roof. Only remnants of the original impressive fresco decoration of the church have survived. |
