Church of the Panagia

The Byzantine Church of the Panagia stands in the centre of the village, its walls covered with 18th-century frescoes by Gregory of Symi in a state of extraordinary preservation. The church was originally built in the late Byzantine period and rebuilt in its current form in the 13th or 14th century; the frescoes were added in 1779 during the Ottoman period.

The interior is dim and cool, a relief from the summer heat, and the frescoes cover virtually every surface — walls, ceiling, arches — in a rich programme of saints, biblical scenes, and Pantocrator imagery typical of late Byzantine iconography. The church is usually open during daylight hours. Small donations are requested; the money goes to maintenance.

things to do sight
A story
The frescoes covering the interior were painted by Gregory of Symi in 1779, a period when the Dodecanese was under Ottoman rule. Gregory was the foremost fresco painter of his era in the Aegean islands, and the Lindos commission is generally considered his masterpiece. The Ottoman administration permitted the Christian community of Lindos to maintain its church and commission religious art throughout the period, which is why the church's interior survived intact when many others in the Aegean did not.