Church of the Dormition of Virgin Mary - Fragavilla Monastery

South-east of Amaliada is the Holy Church of the Dormition of Virgin Mary, once the katholicon of the Fragavilla Monastery. The name "Fragavilla" is not related to the monastery, the construction of which precedes the Frankish rule, but it was the toponym of the area and attests to the presence of Westerners during the period of Frankish rule.

The church belongs to the cross-in-square type with atrophied west arm, elongated pillars supporting the dome and a large semicircular apse to the east. The dating of the monastery can be placed after the middle of the 11th c. The church has undergone many interventions, the largest being carried out before the post-Byzantine wall painting that extends to the sealed windows of the dome and south cross arm. In addition, the church has lost some of its parts due to collapse, such as the apses of the parabemata and the western wall of the narthex, while later buttresses were built on the north and south sides. There were also changes to the central apse and at the arrangement of the roof of the church.

The church is built of large poros stones and plinths. The dome with its dentil eave survives in its entirety, as does some of the Byzantine ceramosis, and has eight windows, four of which are sealed. On the south side of the church is another window, also sealed today, while on the north side there is an entrance, the form of which is subsequent. The eastern facade is dominated by the high semi-cylindrical apse, which has a triple-light window and rich ceramoplastic decoration.

The interior of the church preserves the later built altar screen of the sanctuary and the prothesis, as well as mural decoration of at least three phases: an extensive layer of the 17th c., a newer one on the altar screen and traces of the Byzantine in the intradoses of the window of the sanctuary apse.

A few years ago, the Ministry of Culture carried out restoration of the Fragavilla Monastery and its surroundings, and today it is a point of attendance for many believers and visitors.
 

Copyediting: Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia