Agios Dimitrios

Τhe Byzantine church of Agios Dimitrios is at the foot of the hill Tourles to the north of the Castle of Kalamata.

Agios Dimitrios, which was declared as an ancient monument as it is the only Byzantine monument of 11th-12th century outside the town of Kalamata, is a dependency of the monastery of Velanidia.

The church of Agios Dimitrios consists of one-room building with a wooden roof and a three-sided apse to the east and pitched tiled roof.

Experts estimate that the apse of the church of Agios Dimitrios comes from an older church that is estimated to have been built in the 12th century as the rest of the building dates back from the 13th or 15th century. It is argued that the building was originally a cross-shaped church, which in the post-Byzantine period was turned into an aisle basilica when the roof collapsed.

In Agios Dimitrios, the visitor can admire the frescoes dating back from the 18th century (on the side walls) and the 19th century (on the temple).

The church of Agios Dimitrios was badly damaged but it was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1986.