Pitareti Monastery ( ka, ფიტარეთის მონასტერი) is a medieval
Orthodox Christian monastery in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, approximately 26 km southwest of the town of
Tetritsqaro,
Kvemo Kartli
Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region ( mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital.
Location
K ...
, southwest of the nation's capital
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
.
The Pitareti monastery consists of the
Theotokos
''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations a ...
church, a belfry, the ruined wall and several smaller accessory buildings. The main church appears to have been built in the reign of
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
early in the 13th century. Its design conforms to the contemporary canon of a Georgian domed church and shares a series of common features – such as a typical cross-in-square plan and a single lateral porch – with the monasteries of
Betania,
Kvatakhevi
Kvatakhevi ( ka, ქვათახევი) is a medieval Georgian Orthodox monastery in Shida Kartli, Georgia, west of the nation’s capital of Tbilisi.
The Kvatakhevi monastic complex is situated near the village Kavtiskhevi at the end ...
, and
Timotesubani. The façades are decorated, accentuating the niches and dormers. The entire interior was once frescoed, but only significantly damaged fragments of those murals survive.
The monastery was a property and a burial ground of the noble family of Kachibadze-
Baratashvili
Baratashvili ( ka, ბარათაშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli.
The ...
and, since 1536, of their offshoots – the princes
Orbelishvili. A 14th-century inscription mentions a
ctitor – the royal chamberlain Kavtar Kachibadze. Another inscription, from a grave stone, records the name of Qaplan Orbelishvili who refurnished the monastery in 1671. The monastery thrived at Pitareti until 1752 when it was forced to close due to a
marauding attack from
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
.
Gallery
Image: Pitareti2.jpg, Drum and dome of the church.
References
* Zakaraia, P. (1990), ქართული ხუროთმოძღვრება XI-XVIII სს. ("Georgian Architecture of the 11th-18th centuries"). Tbilisi: pp. 96–113.
External links
Pitareti ''Monument.ge''. Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
''
Parliament of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proporti ...
''. Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
13th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings
Georgian Orthodox monasteries
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