The Panagia Faneromeni Monastery, named for its location in a pine grove in Faneromeni, stands opposite the narrowest point of the Megarida Gulf. The monastery’s Catholicon is a three-aisle basilica with a grand central dome and frescoes painted in 1735 by famous hagiographer Georgios Markou.
Located to the south of the Catholicon is the Church of St. Demetrius, home to the Holy Skull of Saint Lawrence. The adjacent Church of the Holy Apostles houses a small religious museum with sacred vessels and other religious relics, as well as weapons belonging to the fighters from the Revolution of 1821. Also within the monastery are a boarding house, a women’s nursing home and the burial spot of Gouras, a leader in the 1821 Revolution.
Founded in 1670 by Saint Lawrence, the convent was built to replace the older 11th-century building. Saint Lawrence served as its abbot until retiring to a small cell on a cliff south of the monastery, where he remained until his death in 1707.
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