Peribleptos Monastery

The Peribleptos Monastery is a late Byzantine-era monastery in Mystras, Greece. It was probably built in the mid-14th century by the first Despot of the Morea, Manuel Kantakouzenos, and named after one of the most celebrated monasteries of Byzantine Constantinople. The frescoes in the main church, dating between 1348 and 1380, are a very rare surviving late Byzantine cycle, crucial for the understanding of Byzantine art. It is named after St. Mary of Peribleptos, of Byzantine Constantinople (Istanbul). The monastery is built into the side of a cliff with a cave supporting the structure. This architectural style is known as the "Mystras style" and is prevalent in several churches and monasteries in the area, this style is typified by a resemblance to a castle. It is constructed of squared stones with inlaid tiles. The complexity and unique variations in the shape of the exterior create an interior surface inside the monastery that lends itself to the ethereal quality of the frescoes covering the walls. These have been described as "delicate and subdued" in Byzantine Architecture and Decoration (Hamilton 194-95)

Monastery data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).