Panagia Mavriotissa Monastery
About 4 km from the center of Kastoria, on the lakeshore, the historic Panagia Mavriotissa Monastery lies as one of the most important Byzantine monuments in Western Macedonia. Originally known as the Mesonisiotissa Monastery, it was founded in the 11th century and it is dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. It acquired its present name in the 17th century, likely after the opposite lakeside village of Mavrovo.
The monastery’s katholikon is a single-aisled, timber-roofed basilica with a semicircular apse and a spacious narthex. Inside, wall paintings from different periods have stood the test of time, revealing the presence of multiple painters and artistic currents. Particularly notable is the exterior depiction of the “Root of Jess”, one of the oldest surviving representations of the theme, as well as two imperial portraits believed to portray Alexios I Komnenos and Michael VIII Palaiologos.
In the 16th century, the chapel of Saint John the Theologian was added. Its interior and exterior frescoes (dated 1552)—the work of painter Efstathios Iakovos, chief notary of Arta—are striking for their splendor: scenes from Christ’s life, miracles, and temptations arranged in three narrative zones. On the exterior, the depiction of Saint Sisoe before the tomb of Alexander the Great inevitably draws attention—a theme common in post-15th-century iconography.
