Hagia Sophia, Gournitsa
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/071 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mani |
| Dates | 1909? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | South-west view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. R. Traquair in his publication does not name the church. |
| 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 imposing church of Hagia Sophia at Gournitsa is built at the site of an ancient mine on the westernmost peak of the Kardamyle hills. It is of two-column cross-in-square plan with a twelve-sided dome. The church is built of local limestone without bricks. The narrow-moulded windows of the monument are alternatively decorated with semicircular arches and Turkish ogee-arched lintels. The three apses are hexagonal. The cornice is decorated with a saw-tooth ornament. The interior walls are covered with wall-paintings: according to a surviving dedicatory inscription the church was erected in 1630 and was frescoed in 1700. |
| Reference |
1909. BSA 15: pl.17f. Link to article |