The byzantine chusrch Panagia Chrysafitissa is located in Chrysafa village 15km east of modern Sparta. It is a settlement with a recorded history of more than 1000 years. It thrived in the Late-Byzantine period and in the Ottoman period until it was destroyed after the Orlov events (Orlofika) around 1775.
There are several byzantine churches in the area among of which is Panagia Chrysafitissa. The older fresco in the church includes an inscription for the donors and a date:1290. Other parts of the fresco date back to the 17th century.
The ruins around the church indicate that it was part of a monastic complex. Apparently, the tower was also part of the complex and its construction could be dated with some certainty in the late 13th century, before 1290.
