Location
Church of Saint John the Baptist, Deliana
Deliana, Chania
Church of Saint John the Baptist, Deliana – Deliana, Chania
The Church of Saint John the Baptist in Delianá (Δελιανά) is an important sacred monument in the Kissamos area of Crete, representing Byzantine and early Renaissance architecture. The building dates from a period when Crete was under both Venetian and Byzantine influence, and its interior is decorated with wall paintings dated to the 13th–14th centuries. Located within the village of Delianá, in the area known as Pródomos (Πρόδρομος), the church constitutes a central point in the spiritual and artistic history of the local community.
Description
The church is a single-nave structure with a barrel vault, erected on the foundations of an earlier church of the same dimensions. Externally, it displays characteristic features such as decorative arcades and brick façades, while the entrance portal preserves Late Gothic ornamentation bearing the coat of arms of the Venier family.
The interior contains wall paintings most likely executed by the workshop of Michael Veneris, including scenes from the life of Christ, the iconographic motif of the *Head of Saint John on a Platter*, and a depiction of the *Communion of the Apostles*. The frescoes from this period are distinguished by their intense color palette and the remarkably well-preserved pictorial layers despite the passage of time.
The church remains active and open to visitors, and it constitutes one of the key reference points for scholarly research into the sacred art of Crete.
Location
Deliana, Chania
Coordinates: 35.44649, 23.73760