Pythagorio sits on the southeast coast of Samos, wrapped around a sheltered bay where the ancient capital once stood. The town takes its name from Pythagoras, the mathematician born on the island. Whitewashed lanes climb the hillside above a working marina, and ancient monuments cluster within a short walk of the quay. This guide covers … Read more
Perched high in the upper town of Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Bath stands as a unique testament to the architectural and cultural legacy of the Byzantine era. This small brick bathhouse, built around the turn of the fourteenth century, is the only Byzantine public bath still standing in Thessaloniki and one of very few that survive … Read more
The Church of the Holy Apostles, known locally as Agioi Apostoloi, stands as a testament to Thessaloniki’s rich Byzantine heritage. Constructed in the early fourteenth century during the Palaiologan period, this architectural marvel was originally the katholikon of a monastery founded by Patriarch Niphon. Its design features a cross-in-square layout, crowned by five domes, and … Read more
Panagia Acheiropoietos stands as a testament to early Christian architecture in the heart of Thessaloniki. This basilica, constructed in the fifth century, is among the city’s oldest churches that remain in continuous use. Its name, meaning ‘made without hands’, refers to a miraculous icon of the Virgin. Visitors are drawn to its three-aisled timber-roofed structure, … Read more
The Church of Profitis Ilias, a late-Byzantine architectural marvel, stands proudly in the upper town of Thessaloniki. Built on the Athonite triconch plan, it features a central nave flanked by two semicircular apses. This fourteenth-century structure, associated with the Nea Moni monastery, showcases exquisite banded brick-and-stone masonry and a towering central dome. Recognised as a … Read more
Panagia Chalkeon, also known as the Church of the Virgin of the Coppersmiths, stands as a testament to the Byzantine heritage in Thessaloniki. Founded in the eleventh century by the Byzantine official Christophoros, this brick-built church is famed for its decorative architecture and historical significance. The church’s name is derived from the coppersmiths’ bazaar that … Read more
Philippi is a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site on the plain of eastern Macedonia, set about a hundred and sixty-five kilometres east of Thessaloniki and a short drive inland from Kavala. Philip II of Macedon founded the city in the fourth century BC on the earlier settlement of Krenides, and Rome later raised it to … Read more
The walls of Thessaloniki are the great land and sea fortifications that ringed the Byzantine city, a circuit of close to four kilometres of stone and brick. They stand in their present form from the late fourth to the middle of the fifth century, raised on the line of an earlier late-Roman wall. The defence … Read more
The Byzantine churches of Thessaloniki form the richest span of early Christian and medieval church building to survive in one Greek city. They run from the fifth-century basilicas of the early empire to the domed churches of the last Byzantine age, raised in brick over the Roman streets and the martyrs’ tombs. Fifteen of these … Read more
The Church of Agios Dimitrios is the great five-aisled basilica of Thessaloniki’s patron saint, raised over the Roman baths where the soldier Demetrios was held and run through with a spear. The church has stood on this ground since the early Christian centuries, rebuilt after fire and earthquake, and it guards a crypt at the … Read more