(Hagios) Soter, Gardenitsa
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/073 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | North side. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. |
| 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 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 church of Soter (Hagios Soter) at Gardenitsa is a two-columned cross-in-square domed building with slender analogies. The walling on the east side consists of porous stones. Carefully-cut stones and bricks have been used on the other sides. On the north side, these form large geometrical (T-shaped) patterns. Brickwork ornaments, Kufic and pseudo-Kufic inserts enliven the walling. The dome and the polygonal apses on the east side of the monument strongly recall buildings of the so-called ‘Constantinopolitan School’. The square propylon on the west side of the church with the two-light arches on the south and the north sides and the large arched opening on the western end has been dated at the beginning of the 12th c. Worth noting is the belfry that emphasises the harmonious proportions of the church. The interior was decorated with good-quality post-Byzantine wall-paintings. Hagios Soter was dated by Megaw at around 1050. |