The New Monastery of Voulkano, the most important monastery complex in Messenia, was founded on the 5th of March 1625, according to the manuscript codex of the Monastery. It is being located on a small plateau on the eastern part of the Eva Mountain (Haghios Vasilios), in a position controlling the Messenian valley. Until the foundation of the new monastery, the historical fraternity was settled on the top of Mount Ithome, that during the Middle Ages was renamed Voulkano or Vourkano, where the remnants of the old monastery, the so called Epanokastritissa, are still well preserved. The church of the new monastery was built in 1701, a date documented and supported by morphological and architectural evidence. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and belongs to the two columned cross in square type, with three protruding apses to the east, all three-sided externally. The walls of the church and the original structure of the dome were revealed after the removal of the modern cement mortars that covered the external surfaces. The dome is in the form of the so – called Athenian type; it has an octagonal drum made of carved porous stone and adjoining a curved cornice of the same material. On the edges of the sides small porous stone columns are lined, crowned with capitals above which marble gutters are fixed. The apses consist of carved porous stone and are traversed by beveled cornice at window sill level. The architectural type, the dimensions and morphological details of the church – especially the form of the octagonal dome – suggest that the early 18th century craftsmen imitated the Samarina church type; the finest Byzantine monument in the area, also a dependency (metochion) of the Voulkano monastery.

The project (2) “ Restoration of the Church of the New Monastery of Voulkano” part of the project “Restoration of the Voulkano Holy Monastery, Municipality of Messene, Prefecture of Messenia, Region of Peloponnese” was included in the Operational Program “Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship”  with a budget of 260.000€. It was implemented under the auspices of the   Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia.

The following works were carried out in the frame of the project:

• Removal of the contemporary bell tower and porch.
• Removal of the modern cement mortar that covered the external surfaces of the church and dome.
• Examination and consolidation of the foundations of the church.
• Restoration and completion of the porous stone cornices.
• Sealing of joints on the sides of the church and dome using a compatible mortar.
• Removal of old roof tiles, dome and roof consolidation.
• Tilling of the dome and roofs with handmade Byzantine type tiles.
• Construction of a new single – lobed bell tower at the west end of the church.
• Construction of a new porous stone porch with wooden roof.
• Small -scale works of repair and paving of the floor of the surrounding area.