Zaros.
Venerato.
CRETE
273
catholicon, a barrel-vaulted, twin-naved church, was complet-
ed in two phases. The original naiskos of the 14th c. was ex-
panded to the W and a second nave with isodomic vault struc-
ture was added in the N section in the 16th c. In the façade
a high Venetian-style belfry has been built, while in the court-
yard is a Renaissance fountain. The selection and arrange-
ment of iconographical themes are unique for the churches
of Crete and seem to have been realised under the instruc-
tion of a wise abbot who aspired to promote the monastic
ideal of brotherhood. In the conch, the unique scene of the
Supper at Emmaus is surrounded by major apostles, great
prophets and angels. In the apse of the bema, instead of the
established wall-painting of the Ascension, is the Communion
of the Apostles, and on the upper section the Divine Liturgy.
The W section is historiated with a series from the Menologion
(ecclesiastical monthly calendar with lives of saints), unique in
Crete, as are the scenes of Aghios Simeon (the God-receiver)
holding the baby Jesus, and of Aghios Vasileios among hermit
saints on the S wall. The high quality of these paintings as-
sociates them directly with the early works of the Palaeologan
Renaissance and displays the high educational level of the
monastic community at Vrontisi.
442.
Zaros.
Saint Nicholas, a small catholicon of an old monastery, fea-
tures a later narthex. Wall-paintings date to the two respective
building phases, with works of the early 14th c. in the original
church and of the early 15th c. in the narthex, including the
representation of the newly introduced Aghios Phanourios as
a deacon, the second best-known picture of the saint, after
that in Avdou.
443.
Gergeri.
Beneath the church of the Christ are ruins of an Early Christian
basilica.
444.
Panassos.
Panagia Chanoutia is a small, barrel-vaulted, single-nave
church with Gothic doorframes and an agiothyrido (small
window in the shrine). In the interior are well-executed wall-
paintings, dated to 1443 according to a dedicatory inscription.
445.
Aghia Varvara.
Saint George at Pirouniana, a barrel-vaulted, single-nave
church with additional narthex covered by a low dome, con-
tains painted decoration of provincial style dating from the
second half of the 14th c. The arrangement of the large scene
of the Second Coming in the dome of the narthex is unusual.
446.
Melissa Fortress in Aghios Thomas.
On a hill N of the village of Aghios Thomas are the ruins of
Melissa fortress. It is an extensive, almost rectangular com-
plex built in levels. Within the walls, various structures and
possibly cisterns are discernible. The fortress, mentioned in
a document of 1360, controlled the inland territory towards
the Messara Plain and has visual contact with the fortresses
of Temenos and of Malevizi. It was possibly built in the sec-
ond Byzantine period (961-1204). In Aghios Thomas stands
the three-aisled, barrel-vaulted church of Saint Thomas, built
on the site of an older place of worship. Its frescoes date from
the 14th c. A barrel-vaulted transverse narthex with dome was
added to the W in the 15th c. On a rock in the foothills of the
village stands the barrel-vaulted, single-nave church of Arch-
angel Michael, with 14th c. wall-paintings.
447.
Venerato.
The barrel-vaulted, twin-naved church of Archangel Michael
at Vlachiana acquired its final form gradually, when the origi-
nal small, single-nave church was expanded to the W and a
large nave was added to the S. The two spaces communicate
through two large openings. The doorframes are of Gothic
style, with opulent decoration. The pointed trilobe agiothyrido
(small window) with its lobes featuring a leaf-shaped top, in
the conch of the S nave, is unique. The belfry on the roof be-
tween the two naves has a gable top of the type prevailing in
Cretan monuments of the 14th-15th c. Wall-painted decoration
has been preserved only in the S nave. Of particular interest
is the large representation of the idiomelon (type of sticheron)
for Christmas, in the drum of the W wall. The wall-paintings
are typical of the Constantinopolitan tradition of the mid-15th
c. and date to 1447 according to a dedicatory inscription. The
catholicon of Paliani monastery, one of the oldest religious
houses in Crete, is a three-aisled, barrel-vaulted, Mid-Byzan-
tine basilica, built on the site of an Early Christian structure.
