Samtavisi Cathedral

Samtavisi was built in 1030 on the plain west of Tbilisi, and its importance is compositional: the eastern facade, with a large carved cross set between two deep triangular niches and framed by arcading and a decorated window, established an arrangement that Georgian church builders repeated for centuries afterwards. The dome, drum and much of the upper structure were rebuilt in the fifteenth century after damage. Inside, fragments of wall painting survive. The church stands within a walled enclosure with a ruined bishop's palace and a bell tower, in flat farmland just off the main highway, which makes it an easy stop on the way to Gori or Uplistsikhe.

History

By Georgian tradition the first monastery here was founded by the Assyrian missionary Isidore in 572 and rebuilt in the 10th century, though neither building survives; the present cathedral was built in 1030, as a now lost inscription recorded, by the bishop and architect Hilarion, son of Vane Kanchaeli, who also built the nearby church of Ashuriani. Earthquakes later brought down the dome, part of the western wall and the pillars, and an inscription names Gayane, wife of an Amilakhor, as the second builder in a partial reconstruction of the 15th-16th century; in 1679 Givi Amilakhvari and his wife had new frescoes painted by Bishop Meliton, and in the 19th century another rebuilding cost some of the decoration, leaving the richly carved eastern facade as the only original part (Wikipedia, Samtavisi Cathedral).

What to look for

• The carved eastern facade - the cross and niches copied for centuries.
• Decorated window surrounds - the ornament framing the openings.
• The walled enclosure - bell tower and ruined bishop's palace.
• Fragments of wall painting - what survives inside.

When to go

April to October. One hour as a stop off the highway. Modest dress is required. It may be locked outside service times.

What to expect

Much of the upper church is later rebuilding rather than eleventh-century work. Interior painting is fragmentary. Traffic noise from the highway carries. There is no interpretation and few facilities.

Nearby

Kaspi is south; Gori and Uplistsikhe lie west.

Key facts