Church of Agios Nikolaos – Agia Sotira
Just outside the village of Platý stands an externally modest single-aisled timber-roofed church dating to 1591, which surprises visitors with the richness of its interior decoration. Although dedicated to Agios Nikolaos, it is locally known as Agia Sotira (Transfiguration of the Saviour). The interior is organised into three successive zones. In the lowest zone, full-length saints are presented together with the scene of the Deesis, while above the founding inscription, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary is depicted. In the upper zones, scenes from the Dodecaorton (Twelve Feasts) are completed by the cycle of the Passion of Christ. In the apse, the Virgin Mary Blachernitissa—an iconographic type showing the Virgin holding the Christ Child before her in a medallion—dominates, accompanied by the Melismos and figures of hierarchs. Variations in style and technique suggest the work of more than one painter, although all follow the established artistic tradition of workshops from the wider Prespa region, Kastoria, and Ohrid. A small yet remarkable example of ecclesiastical art of its time, the church reveals how simplicity can conceal true grandeur.
