Pitareti Monastery

Pitareti Monastery
ფიტარეთი მონასტერი

The monastic complex of Pitareti.
Shown within Georgia (country)
Basic information
Location Located approximately 26 km southwest of Tetritsq'aro, Kvemo Kartli Province (Mkhare),
 Georgia
Geographic coordinates 41°28′44″N 44°19′11″E / 41.4789°N 44.3197°E / 41.4789; 44.3197Coordinates: 41°28′44″N 44°19′11″E / 41.4789°N 44.3197°E / 41.4789; 44.3197
Affiliation Georgian Orthodox Church
Region Caucasus
Architectural description
Architectural type Georgian; Monastery
Architectural style Monastic complex
Funded by Qaplan Orbelishvili - refurnished Pitareti, 1671
Completed Theotokos Church - Possibly 13th century

Pitareti Monastery (Georgian: ფიტარეთი მონასტერი) is a medieval Orthodox Christian monastery in Georgia, approximately 26 km southwest of the town of Tetritsq'aro, Kvemo Kartli, southwest of the nation’s capital Tbilisi.

The Pitareti monastery consists of the Theotokos church, a belfry, the ruined wall and several smaller accessory buildings. The main church appears to have been built in the reign of George IV early in the 13th century. Its design conforms to the contemporary canon of a Georgian domed church and shares a series of common features – such as a typical cross-in-square plan and a single lateral porch – with the monasteries of Betania, Kvatakhevi, and Timotesubani. The façades are decorated, accentuating the niches and dormers. The entire interior was once frescoed, but only significantly damaged fragments of those murals survive.

The monastery was a property and a burial ground of the noble family of Kachibadze-Baratashvili and, since 1536, of their offshoots – the princes Orbelishvili. A 14th-century inscription mentions a ctitor – the royal chamberlain Kavtar Kachibadze. Another inscription, from a grave stone, records the name of Qaplan Orbelishvili who refurnished the monastery in 1671. The monastery thrived at Pitareti until 1752 when it was forced to close due to a marauding attack from Dagestan.

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