Asomatos, Kakovouno - Hagioi Theodoroi, Vamvaka - Hagios Georgios, Kitta - Hai-Strategos, Boularioi - Hagios Nikolaos, Ochia
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/01/01/14/142 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | Asomatos, Kakovouno: Part of the iconostasis - Hagioi Theodoroi, Vamvaka: Window of south-east apse - Hagios Georgios, Kitta: Column - Hai-Strategos, Boularioi: Details of the iconostasis - Hagios Nikolaos, Ochia: Guilloche pattern from the west front. The drawing is entitled in ink: 'Lower Mani, Details'. It is annotated in ink. On the back: Hellenic Society label with the note: 'Lakonia, Medieval Churches: Churches of W. Mani: Details of Decoration, BSA XV pl. XVI, R. Traquair'. The drawing is misnumbered in pencil: 'Monemvasia 20'. |
| Further information | The area in the middle of the Peloponnese, on the Laconia/Messenia 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 Hossios 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 domed church of Asomatos, at Kakovouno in the lower Mani, is of the two-column plan with a small square barrel-vaulted narthex to the west. The masonry consists almost exclusively of thin split stones and mortar. The greyish-white marble iconostasis must have been imported. Particularly distinctive is the eleventh-century propylon of the church: it consists one of the earliest examples of type in the Mani. The church of Hagioi Theodoroi stands at the north end of the village of Vamvaka. It is of the simple distyle type. At the west it is preceded by a narthex and at the east it terminates in three polygonal apses. The dome is octagonal with an arched cornice. The walls are partly of rubble (rough masonry) in the lower courses and partly of squared brown limestone with bricks in the joints (cloisonné). The dome has retained some of its glazed pottery bowls. The windows are arched in brick. Noteworthy is the marble carved interior and exterior decoration of the church: according to a dedicatory inscription the ‘entablatures’ were made by Niketas, the stone-mason who must have worked in various churches in the Mani. The erection of the monument is fixed by the same inscription in 1075. The small church of Hagioi Sergios and Bacchos to the north of Kitta, known also as ‘Hagios Georgios’ and the ‘Tourlote’ (the domed one), is an inscribed four-columned cross-in-square domed building with barrel-vaulted cross arms. A narthex was originally attached to the west. The church is considered to be one of the ‘finest old churches’ in the Mani due to its perfect analogies and the quality of its architecture. Dentil courses and an abacus frieze decorate the upper parts of the building, large vertical stone blocks have been incorporated into the cloisonné in the lower parts of the walls, the dome is of the ‘Athenian’ type. While the exterior is strongly reminiscent of the Greek-mainland church-building tradition, the so-called ‘Greek School’, the sculpture in the building points towards a local workshop. Frescoes, which have mostly now gone, decorated the interior. A surviving dedicatory inscription identifies George Marase as the founder. The church was dated by Megaw to the third quarter of the 12th c. The monument was radically restored in 1956. The church of Archangel Michael (Hai-Strategos) at Boularioi, Mani, is of the simple-distyle type with dome and a narthex. The church, which is built of rubble in the lower part of the walls and of regular cloisonné above a certain level, has been dated to the first half of the 11th c. A small barrel-vaulted propylon was added to the west side of the church in the 12th c.. The monument is decorated with good quality wall-paintings in extensive iconographic cycles. The church of Hagios Nikolaos to the east of Ochia is one of the most representative monuments in the Mani. It is of the simple distyle type with narthex. Noteworthy in the architecture of the monument is the absence of the wall between the naos and the narthex and the particularly elongated barrel-vaults. A meander frieze decorates the west side of the monument, abacus friezes enliven the walling on the south and the north sides. The masonry is of rough cloisonné. Besides the dentil cornices, worthy of note in the decoration of the church are the marble carved architectural members. The church was dated by Megaw to the middle of the 12th c. |
| Reference |
1909. BSA 15: pl. 16. Link to article Η Ελλαδική ναοδομία κατά τον 12ο αιώνα. 441, pl.478. |