Panagia Church at Kadros
The Church of Panagia (Our Lady) Bitsiani or Pitsiani is located in the position Kaouriana of the small settlement Kadros in Kakodiki, province Selino, and is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (feast. September 8th). The temple is a small, arched-roofed building with an arch reinforced by sfendonio (reinforcing bow) and two blind arches on the side walls.
The interior of the temple is decorated with frescoes dating back to 1335, attributed to the most famous painter of west Crete, Ioannis Pagomenos. The pictorial program includes figures of full-body saints in the low zones, with Saint Catherine better distinguished, the enthroned Virgin Mary among the angels in the eastern apse of the north wall, seven scenes of the Evangelical cycle and five scenes of the Mariological cycle in the arch, Panagia Eleousa in the sanctuary conch and co-officiating hierarchs operating before Melismos. Of particular note is the depiction of Betrayal, depicting two musicians dressed in military uniform of the Venetian era playing drum and horn.
