Aghios Ioannis.
Monemvasia.
PELOPONNESE
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303. Monemvasia (Μονεμβασία)
303. Monemvasia, Aghia Sophia (Μονεμβασία, Αγία Σοφία)
303. Monemvasia, Elkomenos (Μονεμβασία, Ελκόμενος)
300.
Aghios Ioannis
.
The barrel-vaulted, single-nave church of Saint John was built
on the site of a Byzantine church.
301.
Angelona.
The ruined aisleless churches of the Angels and of Saint Con-
stantine, retaining fragments of Late Byzantine wall-paintings,
are located N of Angelona.
302.
Velies.
In the barrel-vaulted church of Saint George are preserved trac-
es of wall-paintings (13th c). The wall-paintings surviving in the
barrel-vaulted, single-nave church of Panagia, at the Platori site
E of Velies, and in the ruined church of Aghios Eustratios SE of
Velies, are also 13th c.
303.
Monemvasia.
The castle city of Monemvasia, constructed in the 6th c., was
a significant maritime and commercial centre of the Byzantine
empire. In 1248 it surrendered to Guillaume de Villehardouin
and in 1261 the Frankish sovereign passed it to Emperor
Michael VIII Palaeologus. In the 13th-14th c. the city reached
its economic peak and was reinforced with commercial ben-
efits and tax exemptions.
Monemvasia follows the typical tripartite fortification plan of
Byzantine castle cities, featuring citadel, quadrilateral strong-
hold on top of a rock with towers on the corners, and two rows
