Ένας άγνωστος βυζαντινός ναός στην Αργολίδα : Ο Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Θεολόγος Παλιού Λιγουριού
Part of : Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας ; Vol.30, 1986, pages 409-440
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Pages:
409-440
Parallel Title:
An Unknown Byzantine Church in Argolis : Hagios Ioannes Theologos at Ligourio
Section Title:
Articles
Abstract:
The church of Hagios Ioannes Theologos (St. John the Theologian) is foundin the Paliochori, area of Ligourio, at a distance of approximately 4 km. fromthe village. The monument today appears as a small complex consisting of themain church, a porch and a wooden-roofed cell of a later age, in the south sideof the first. The main church, slightly irregular, has dimensions of 7.90x8.30m. It ends up to the East, in three hemihexagonal apses of the sanctuary.There is no narthex, and there was not one even in the initial phase of thechurch. The dome and parts of the walls are due to a partial reconstruction ofthe building. Typologically, the church belongs to the transitional Greekcross-in-square churches. The arrangement of the church's roofs of the usualform, the openings, doors and windows, have been remodeled at a later date.The vaulted porch of the south distance has three openings with horseshoelike arches of the axis and the side walls.For the construction, poros-stones and bricks have been used for thecloissoné masonry, limestone low in the south, the north and may be the westwall of the original church, and poros-stones in the vaults.The formation of the façades, as they are graphically reconstructed on thebasis of remaining evidence, is frugal and heavy, as are the general proportionsof the monument. A band of triangular clay tiles of the "opus reticulatum"type, is the characteristic element of the south side, and the meander to theright and left of the arches of the double-light "arcade type" window of thesanctuary's apse, of the east side. In the vertical joints the ceramic ornamentsof the Greek characters -and decorations- type prevail. Cufic ornaments arevery few.Many sculptures and architectural fragments current with, or earlier than,the initial phase of the church are to be found walled in the building, followingthe various renovating works.With the morphological elements mainly as a basis (masonry, ceramicornaments etc.), the main church of Hagios Ioannes can be dated to themid-1 lth c. The later porch belongs possibly to the 12th c. Finally, the partialrebuilding of the church, and the construction of the wooden-roof cell must beplaced at the late Ottoman period.
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