The monastery of the Virgin Spileotissa is northeast of the village Orthonies in northern mountainous Zakynthos. It was named after a cave in the neighboring rugged gorge. According to tradition, an icon of the Virgin Mary was found in the cave, hidden by iconodules in the period of Iconoclasm. The church “Paliomonastiro”, as it is called today, was constructed at this location. In the mid-16th century (1561), monk Ioannikiosfrom Kefalonia founded the new monastery of the Virgin Spileotissa. In 1591, Ioannikios appointed DionysiosSgouros, who later became Saint Dionysios, as supervisor of the monastery. The current complex of the monastery consists of a rectangular porch, one-floor and two-floor buildings, supporting facilities, and the katholikon (major church) following the typical architecture of post-Byzantine monasteries. The main gate of the complex is a monumental pillar with baroque elements which is at the same time the steeple of the monastery. The katholikon is a one-roomed church of Heptanesian art, with a wooden vaultedroof. On the exterior of the church, several elements of Renaissance architecture have survived such as its doorframes and windows with arched pediments, etc. The interior of the church has today no frescos. According to epigraphical evidence, the katholikon in its present form dates from 1794 and represents –probably better than other preserved monuments– the characteristic architecture of the island during this period.