L'église des Saints Apôtres à Léontari

Abstract

The church of Saints Apostles at Leontari of Arkadia belongs to this group which has only a few examples of the mixed architectural type of the Palaiologan religious architecture of Mystras. The restoration works that were undertaken made possible an analytical study of the building phases of the church. The synthesis of the historical data along with the architectural and archaeological information that came to light designate the foundation of the church in the second quarter of the 15^th century, showcase as possible donor of the church the despot Theodore II Palaiologos who by that time had made Leontari the capital of his small state, and suggest that in its original configuration the church had a vaulted ambulatory surrounding the church with ribbed groined vaults and undulated cornice after its prototype the church of Hodegetria of Mystras.