An inscription on the marble lintel between the narthex and the nave dates the church to 1164 and names its founder, Alexios Angelos Komnenos, a grandson of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Built of stone and brick, it is crowned by a central dome and four smaller ones. An earthquake in 1555 brought down the main dome, and in the 19th century the walls were painted over entirely; much of the original 12th-century work was uncovered and conserved during the 20th century.
The frescoes are the real reason to come. Painted by several artists, the leading master probably from Constantinople, they show figures of striking emotion and realism, above all the Lamentation of Christ, in which the Virgin cradles her dead son in a scene often seen as anticipating early Renaissance painting in Italy. Look out too for the Deposition from the Cross, the finely carved stucco frames around the images of St Panteleimon and the Virgin, and the gallery of full-length saints along the lower walls.
Pair your visit with time on Vodno, with its sweeping views across the city.
