Sv. Pantelejmon, Nerezi

 

My junior year in college, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, where I studied Italian art, history, language. At the beginning of the section on the Italian Renaissance, our Art History professor discussed the fresco called The Lamentation of Christ inside the Church of Sveti Pantelejmon in Nerezi, Macedonia as one of the frescoes that influenced the Italian Renaissance. I immediately remembered going there as a child (and apparently embarrassing my parents on one of the trips- but that’s for a different story); I remembered my Dad explaining to me the emotion one can see in Mary enveloping Jesus; and how remarkable it is in how well preserved it is after all the wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters throughout the centuries. It remains one of my most favorite places in the world to visit, even if it is a little hard to get to (we ended up going twice on this trip!) The view from the top is also not to be missed!