Cave Church of Agios Loukas

In Apella, on a verdant slope that gets you to a picturesque and impressive beach, well hidden among the pine trees is the cave church of Agios Loukas. A beautiful, impressive and odd-looking chapel carved into a cave, although its past grandeur is long gone.

It features an arched-roof single-nave narthex, as well as a damaged exonarthex (front hall), and it is full of exquisite wall paintings and elaborate frescoes dating from the second half of the 13th century.

The second layer of paintings in the semi-cavernous narthex is in a much better condition. After a study for the restoration of the monument, excavations were carried out in the surrounding area in 2002 by the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, which showed that the church was part of a larger complex.

After its restoration, the church was designated as a Preserved Monument of the island. At the bottom of the cave there is still holy water running, which may have been the main reason for the construction of the church.