The Church of the Dormition (Ιερός Ναός Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου, Kimisi Theotokou, "falling-asleep of the mother of God", the death of the Virgin Mary, see gallery page 46) is in the upper part of Neo Karlovasi.
The church was designed by the architect Angelos Angelidis (Άγγελος Αγγελίδης, see gallery page 50), who also designed the Agios Nikolaos Church in Karlovasi (see next page) as well as the Agios Nikolaos Church in Kokkari and the Agios Spyridon Church in Vathy.
It is similar in a number of ways to the other churches designed by Angelidis on Samos: built of a light brown stone, with detailing in red brick (arches, windows) and grey marble columns (see photo below). All of them are large, tall edifices which tower above the other buildings in their respective locations.
What makes the churches really stand out is their brightly painted blue and white domes, a characteristic of church buildings on Samos (see the belltower of Panagia Spiliani Monastery, Pythagorio, on gallery page 22). The roofs of Angelidis' two churches in Karlovasi are particularly flamboyantly decorated, with the addition of red (and in this case gold-yellow) detailing.
The visual effect of this arrangement is quite odd and striking: it creates the illusion of a Greek island chapel stranded on top of a monumental stone building which appears to have risen up from beneath it. |
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The dome of the
Dormition Church |
