Hagios Petros, Pyrgos Dirou
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/100 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | View of the interior (the surviving frescoes on the vaults and dome). 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. Pyrgos Dirou is located at the heart of the Mani. The church of Hagios Petros is located at the suburb of Gklezou about a mile to the south of Pyrgos Dirou. In plan is a domed Greek cross with a single outside hexagonal apse on the east side. The masonry is of cut-stone and rubble in the lower courses. Irregular cloisonné has been used for the upper parts of the church. The dome, which sits on a high drum, is octagonal externally and built of good brick and stone masonry. The cornice is arched while glazed ceramic bowls decorated the south-west side. Traces of the fresco decoration of the church still remain inside. The monument has been dated to around 1025. |