Holy Saint Achiropita
Rossano’s Cathedral had already been built when in 1193 King Tancredi visited it. The present building is built on two previous ones: the former dates back to the VI c. and the latter to the centuries VIII IX.
The building consists of three naves plus a fourth made of four chapels and an apsidiole. The Church is the real visual evidence of the history of the diocese: in it we fi nd works and artifacts of every age.
In the years they were commissioned by the various bishops of the district: from the Byzantine mosaics on the fl oor of the altar, to the wall paintings of the fi rst years of the XX c, painted by Capobianco.
Then there are the wonderful marbles commissioned in the fi rst years of the XVIII c. by Moss. Adeodati. Among them there is the altar with the old and worshipped icon of Our lady of Achiropita.
According to the tradition, this icon dating back to the VIII c., is not the work of an artist, but of the Mother of God, hence the name of Achiropita which in Greek means “not made by the hand of a man”.
Panaghia
The church, founded in the X c., is the most important monument of Byzantine art in Rossano. It lies in the area which in ancient times was called “Graecia” It has the architectonic Greek cross plan, which is typical of the little By- zantine churches built in Byzantium since the fi rst years of the IX c., but which arrived in Calabria one century later.
The church has a homologous church in the Catholic of Stilo.
Inside the church there are two bodies: an original part with Greek Cross plan and the vestibule added later, probably after the XV century.
In 1928-34, during the restora- tion works, on the left wall, at the back of the presbytery, a fragment of a fresco depicting a Madonna Odigitria with Jesus came out (from the Greek the woman who points to the road, therefore the woman who teaches).
Saint Mary of Patir
The abbey was founded in 1095 by Saint Bartholomew from Simeri, thanks to the help of Count Ruggero and Norman admiral Cristodulo. It was dedicated to Saint Mary New Odigitria, even if it is known as Saint Mary of Patir, or, according to the popular pronunciation, of Patire.
The use of this name, from the Greek word? (pater, pronounced in Modern Greek patir, that is father) testifi es to the particular devotion to the founder father). Since the origins, the buil- ding had problems of “ownership”.
The Archbishop of Rossano, Nicola Malena, laid claims of jurisdiction. According to the Byzantine law the ownership of the building and the autonomy was forbidden to the monks. In this way Saint Bartholomew from Simeri went to Rome where he managed to obtain from Pope Pasquale II the immunity from the Bishop’s authority.
The great cultural tradition of the Monastery of Patir, concerning the constructive, calligraphic and illuminating activity, begins with Saint Bartholomew from Simeri and continues with archimandrite Luca, who, in 1137, commissioned to sculptor Gandolfo the font, now hosted at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In 1149 Luca’s successor, Abbot Blasius, commissioned the wonderful mosaic floor.
In it, inside four big rotae a centaur, a griffi n, a lion and a unicorn appear. Another important personality was Atanasio Calcheopulo (1448-1458), client of the table of the new Odigitria which is in the church of Saints Peter and Paul in Corigliano. In 1809 the monastery was abolished by the French. In 1915 the structure was sold to the State and, at present, it is ownership of Afor.
Saint Mark
Another example of Byzantine architecture is the Church of Saint Mark. It has a rectangular shape, it is aisleless and it is covered with wooden trussed beans. The apse is semicircular with upper semidome with double lancet window.
On the right of the apse there is the image of Saint John Chrysostom holding in his hand an open roll, written in Greek, in which you can read: ”Nobody of those who are slaves of the wishes and lust for the fl esh is worthy”. On the left of the apse there is the head of another saint, who, very certainly, is identifi ed as Saint Basilio. Outside the church you can note the brick decoration in the apse, made of a double layer of bricks.
The upper part is herringbone arranged, while in the lower part the bricks are arranged in the shape of an isosceles triangle. This kind of decoration, typical of the second Byzantine golden age, allows us to date the building between the X-XI century.