The Monastery of the Annunciation of the Virgin in Vyliza is built in a prominent position above the union of three tributaries of the Arachthos and is located 1200m away from Matsouki.

According to tradition, the abbey was founded in the 11th century, but the current building belongs to the post-Byzantine ages. It was of a fortress character, following the “enclosed” architectural type. It consists of a catholicon, a narthex and a series of cells developing around a rectangular courtyard, with a two-story abbot’s hall and a passable roof on the west side. At the north of the complex is the chapel of Saint John the Baptist, and the monumental cistern of the monastery, a work that dates to 1780.

The frescoes of the catholicon date back to 1793, while those of the narthex are earlier. The chapel of Saint John bears impressive frescoes, painted by hagiographers from Kalarrytes in the year of 1737. The monastery celebrates on March 25 and August 15, when there is a large number of pilgrims.

Irini Kalogianni – Dimitra Papaioannou