Articles

The Byzantine church of Ag. Stefanou Riviou is built on a hill in the Rivio area, one kilometer from the Antirrio-Ioannina road. It is not known whether the church was a monastery or a church that belonged to a settlement or a part of a larger monastic center. The recent unveiling of numerous tombs to the east-west and south of the temple, as well as their expansion much further south of the rural road combined with the absence of ruins, suggest that the temple was a cemetery of a nearby settlement that was probably destroyed during Ottoman rule. It belongs to the type of one-room cruciform inscribed church with a dome. Traces of Byzantine decoration are preserved in the hollows of the dome. Although in the architecture of the church there are elements of the architecture of the 12th century, nevertheless the main elements of the structure of the walls place this simple building in the first half of the 13th century and include it in the building activity of the despot of Epirus. This point of interest is Mountainous and Rural. Suitable season to visit: All-year-round. It is not accessible through public transport. It has no fee or ticket. Source of photographic material: Cultural Association of Papadatai of Xiromero O Agios Nikolaos - Mr. Stergiou Dimitrios.