Monastery of Vella
The Monastery of Vella is located at Kalpaki of Ioannina and was built on the 11th century. It is very close to the location of the ancient town “Paliovella”, which developed a lot during the byzantine period. Until 1713 it was the seat of the Bishop. It has a great view and close to it there is the spring of Vella of Kalamas river.
The Monastery of Vella is dedicated to the Dormition of Virgin Mary. In 1863 it belonged to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and in 1885 it turned into a parish church. It had also as glebe the Monastery of Metmorphosis of Jesus Christ in Romania. In 1936 it merged with the Metropolis of Dryinoupoli and Pogoniani and today belongs to the Metropolis of Ioannina.
It worths mentioning that the monastery was on the 13th century and 400 years about a big cultural centre, and it also had a large property. It was devastated in 1817, when the monks refused to give their property to Ali Passia of Ioannina, they left for Corfu.
The Monastery of Vella from 1911 till 1989 operated as a seminary, where studied those who wanted to become teachers or priests, under the protection of the Bishop of Ioannina, Sp. Vlachos, of that time. Nowadays the Church High School is housed in another building along with a foster care.
The church of the monastery is built and splitted in three spaces and as we are informed by a sign it was built in 1745 and its wallpaintings are painted by Constantine and Ioannis Anastasiou.
Significant are also the wallpaintings of the Greek philosophers that are pictured here. The iconostasis is woodcarving and gold-plated with a majestic technique. The monastery celebrartes on 8th September every year.
