Meteora,  Thessaly, Greece

In a region of almost inaccessible sandstone peaks, monks settled on these "columns of the sky" from the 11th century on. At the time of the great revival of the eremetic ideal in the 15th century, 24 of these monasteries were built despite incredible difficulties. Their 16th- century frescoes are a fundamental stage in the development of post- Byzantine painting.

The monasteries are built on rock pinnacles of deltaic origin, called  'Meteora', rising over 400m above the Thessalian plain. Chemical analysis and work by the German geologist Philipson, supported by the Greek geologist Papadakis, suggests that the  pinnacles were created some 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period, emerging from the cone of a river and further transformed by earthquakes. The pillars are of brown sandstone

Meteora
UNESCO Meteora
WCMC Meteora

UNESCO World Heritage Site 1988