Post-Byzantine chapel of Saint Mamas
The church of Saint Mamas is a small chapel located a short distance to the west of the rural and livestock settlement of Skalia. It is a single-room vaulted building with a protruding semi-cylindrical apse to the east. Its external dimensions are 5.90 meters in length and 4.05 meters in width. It is evident from the interior that the vaulted roof has been reconstructed, as well as part of the upper structure of the walls. These reconstructions were carried out in the 20th century, according to the testimonies of the local residents.
The Holy Sanctuary is separated from the main church by a modern wooden iconostasis, which features two contemporary Byzantine-style despotic icons of the Theotokos and Christ. The interior surfaces of the walls are entirely covered with lime plaster and decorated with various portable icons. Among them, the oldest is the icon of Saint Mamas, painted in 1898.
Externally, the chapel is covered with lime plaster. However, it is clear that it has been built on top of an earlier structure from the Proto-Byzantine / Early Christian period. In the surrounding exterior area, various interventions were made a few years ago, such as built stone benches and a paved courtyard made of slate slabs.
The chapel of Saint Mamas is very likely a building from the Late Byzantine or, at the latest, the Post-Byzantine period, and it remains a living part of the religious tradition of the settlement of Skalia. Saint Mamas is the protector of shepherds and farmers, and the presence of his church highlights the importance of agriculture and livestock farming to the local community.
