Church of Agios Minas
At the entrance of Velvento, surrounded by peach orchards, stands the Church of Agios Minas—the oldest Byzantine church in the settlement. Built on a bath complex of the Early Christian period, the church is a single-aisled, wooden-roofed basilica, with a newer narthex on the western side and a loggia on the south. The monument’s long history is reflected in its two main building phases, likely linked to damage suffered during the Ottoman conquest. The apse and eastern wall date back to the 12th–13th centuries, while the western and southern sections were added in the 15th century. This layered past is also echoed in the remarkable frescoes, created in two distinct phases, which you can still admire today. To this day, Agios Minas remains one of the most charming monuments of Velvento — a silent guardian of history, quietly revealing the many centuries it has witnessed.
