Porta Panagia

Porta Panagia was founded in 1283 by John Doukas, ruler of Thessaly, where the Portaikos river leaves the mountains, and it is one of the finest surviving churches of the late Byzantine period in Greece. The building mixes a western-influenced narthex with a Byzantine core, and its treasure is the templon screen holding two large mosaic icons, Christ and the Virgin, made of tiny tesserae yet reading at a distance like painted panels. Frescoes of the same period survive in parts of the interior. Beside the church stands a stone bridge of 1514, a single high arch over the river, built by a local monk, and the setting at the mouth of the gorge with the mountains behind is as much of the attraction as the architecture.

What you actually see

• The mosaic icons - Christ and the Virgin in tesserae on the screen.
• The thirteenth-century church - a late Byzantine building with a western narthex.
• The stone bridge - a single-arch crossing of 1514 beside the church.
• The gorge mouth - the Portaikos emerging from the Pindus foothills.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the site is compact and can be combined with a drive into the Pindus. The church has limited opening hours and closes for a midday break.

Honest expectations

The interior is dim, photography is restricted, and the church can be locked outside posted times. The village of Pyli is modest, with limited facilities. The visit takes under an hour unless you walk the river.

Nearby

Trikala lies northeast; Elati and the Pertouli fir forests are up the mountain road.