Church of the Presentation of the Virgin, Prasteion (bell tower)
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/105 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | Distant view of the belfry. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. |
| Further information | The area in the middle of the Peloponnese, on the Laconia/Messinia border, was known as early as the 10th c. as the ‘Mani’. It was occupied by the Slavs in the early medieval period and was christianised in the 10th c. by Hosios Nikon. There are scores of Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches in the Mani: the first major phase of building activity in the region seems to run from the late 10th to the later 12th c. The village of Prasteion, near Kalamitsi on the western slopes of the Taygetos, was named after the Byzantine prastia or proastia, the lands bestowed by the emperor on healthy nobles or court officials. Prasteion was given to the Melissenos family well before the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. A considerable number of churches still stand in the village. The main/central village church which is dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, was built at the beginning of the 20th c. on the ruins of an older building from which only the bell-tower survived. The bell tower, which stands at the north-east angle of the church, is approximately 40 meters high. It is of the same type as the Kardamyle belfry but much superior to it in design. There are five stages to the conical roof: the lowest is an open arcade. The next three stories have double-arched window openings on the façade and a small central window above. The fifth has only a single light. Rosetted string-courses decorate the sill and springing level of the courses. |
| Reference |
1909. BSA 15: pl.17e. Link to article |