Vlachernon Monastery

On the Kanoni peninsula, south of the city, the small Monastery of Vlachernon is connected to the mainland by a footbridge. First mentioned in 1568, it officially belonged to the Halikiopoulos-Mantzarou family from 1799. The German writer Ferdinandos Grigorovios noted it in a book of 1822. Until 1980 it functioned as a nunnery. The name Vlacheraina derives from Constantinople, where a large monastery was located. The church, dedicated to Panagia Vlaheraina, dates from the 17th century. It is a small white church with a tiled roof and a two-story bell tower with a triple spire; an arch at the bell tower’s base leads into the courtyard and then the temple. Inside, a wood-carved iconostasis holds the pilgrimage icon of the 'Lady of Blacherna'. The monastery celebrates on July 2.