Chapel of Saint Marina

Feast day: July 17

Single-aisled chapel 13.20 m long, excluding the 1.70 m of the projecting apse, and 6.50 m wide. Although no evidence has survived of its superstructure and the type of its roof, it is almost certain, from the presence of the strong buttresses of the north and south walls, that it was vaulted, probably cross-vaulted. It is improbable that the side walls supported a simple arch, given that their height does not allow assuming the existence of an arch. The chapel is dated to the 14th-15th century, based on a fresco that was preserved in the centre of the conch of the apse, with the Communion of the Apostles, and which is recorded in the archives of the Department of Antiquities.

The oldest testimony about the settlement of Mari is to be found in the archives of Venice and dates back to 1418. This area is connected with a fiefdom of a noble family of the Frankish period named Marini. It is a matter of discussion whether the settlement was named after the family, or if both the settlement and the manor received their name from an unknown pre-existing church dedicated to saint Marina, located within the Marini’s estate. Saint Neophytos the Recluse mentions at the end of the 12th century a church of saint Marina Aravanda in the area of Pentakomo, which might be a 12th-century construction, or, an even older one. The chapel is a listed monument (Table B) and its feast day is on the 17th of July.