Minister Lina Mendoni visited the conservation works of the monasteries of Skiathos
Two important monasteries, landmarks for Skiathos and the island’s history, the monasteries of Panagia Kechria and Panagia Konistra, were visited by the Minister of Culture of Greece, Lina Mendoni, as part of her visit to the island of Papadiamantis and the inspection of sites funded by the Region of Thessaly and supervised by the ministry’s services.
The monastery of Panagia Kechria, which is located in the northern part of the island, in the forest, was built in the 17th century and according to a written inscription above the entrance, the catholicon was renovated in 1738 and was decorated with icons in 1745. The central space is covered with a dome with a tall cylindrical drum and around it there are 14 single-paned windows, while on the west wall there are wall-mounted paintings from the workshops of Nicaea.
One of the monastery’s features is the wood-carved iconostasis with themes from the natural world, while there is also remarkable painted decoration.
At the monastery of Kechria, works were carried out to consolidate, restore and preserve the fresco decoration of the iconostasis, the icons, the floor and the glazed panels of the catholicon, in order to highlight its architectural form and its significant artistic value.
A total of 500,000 euros were allocated by the Region of Thessaly and, as was ascertained after Minister Mendoni’s visit, the project was completed under the supervision of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia.
The Minister of Culture also visited the monastery of Panagia Konistra, which is located in the west of the island, in a pine forest, on the road to Aselinos.
The monastery is an extremely important place for Skiathos, since around 1650, Konistra was found by the hieromonk Symeon, which comes from the location where the icon of the Virgin Mary was found. Today, Panagia Konistra is the patron saint of Skiathos, and celebrates her feast day on 21st November, and her icon is located in the metropolitan church of the Three Hierarchs for security reasons.
In the monastery of Konistra, restoration works were carried out on the catholicon as well as on the iconography and frescoes of the church, while the golden wooden carved iconostasis underwent conservation and enhancement interventions, since it is a very important element of the entire monastery. At the same time, the cleaning and strengthening works of the monastery’s walls were also completed.
Minister Mendoni was accompanied to the holy monasteries by the Deputy Governor of Magnesia, Anna Maria Papadimitriou, the Mayor of Skiathos, Thodoris Tzoumas, and officials from the Ministry of Culture.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
