Paregoretissa Church

The Paregoretissa, the Consoling Virgin, was built around 1290 by Nikephoros I of Epirus and his wife Anna, and it looks unlike any other Byzantine church in Greece: a tall brick and stone cube of three storeys with five domes on the roof, more like a palace than a church from outside. The interior explains the shape: the central dome rests on columns that are supported on stone brackets projecting from the walls, stacked in tiers, an experimental system with no close parallel. The dome mosaic of Christ Pantokrator with prophets survives from the original decoration, the finest late Byzantine mosaic in western Greece. Around the church are the remains of the monastery, and a small collection of sculpture is displayed in the courtyard.

What to look for

• The cube exterior - three storeys of brick and stone under five domes.
• The cantilevered columns - the unusual bracket system carrying the dome.
• The dome mosaic - a Pantokrator with prophets from the 1290s.
• The monastery remains - foundations and sculpture in the enclosure.

When to go

Year-round; the church is in the town centre and easily combined with the bridge. Opening hours are limited and it closes on some weekdays.

Good to know

The interior is dark and the mosaic is high above, so binoculars help. Restoration scaffolding has been present at times. The surrounding town is ordinary, and the visit takes under an hour.

Nearby

The Bridge of Arta is at the edge of town; the Ambracian Gulf lies south.