The monastic complex at Agapia includes two churches, the so-called ôAgapia on the Hill,ö founded in the second half of the 16th century, and ôAgapia in the Valley,ö built between 1642 and 1647 by Vasile Lupu and inaugurated by Metropolitan Varlaam. The proximity of the two churches is due to the soft ground under the first church, which prompted the monks to found a second church in the valley. The latter is renowned for its frescoes painted between 1852 and 1862 by the famous Romanian classic painter, Nicolae Grigorescu, who was then only 18 year old.
The church ôAgapia in the Valleyö is triconch and was built in stone and brick. Only the thick walls, the porch, the massive pillars between the porch and the narthex, the semi-circular apses with the windows, and the typically Moldavian octagonal steeple above the nave are left from the original construction. The enclosure and all adjoining buildings (the abbey, the nunsÆ cells, the guest chambers, the museum, the library and the workshops) were built later. The museum houses icons dating from the 17th and 18th century and arts and crafts objects, especially rugs hand-woven by the nuns.
Three frescoes, testifying to Byzantine and Italian influences, may be considered true masterpieces. These are ôThe Entrance into Jerusalemö, the portrait of Saint George on the altar door and the painting ôMadonna and the Childö. The image of Christ against a rainbow on the vault of the dome draws attention to the colours of the Romanian flag. The portraits of the saints are highly realistic, as for example Saint DanielÆs portrait, actually the self-portrait of the master painter.
The monastery ôAgapia on the Hillö was initially a hermitage erected in the second half of the 14th century and bore the name of its founder, Agapie the Hermit; it was rebuilt several times, first under the reign of Prince Petru Rare║, then under the second reign of Petru the Lame (1582-1591), next in 1689, when another church was built by Lady Anastasia, Duca VodπÆs wife, once again in 1821 and in 1873, and most recently between 1990 and 1994. The only element that bears witness to the historical past of this church is the bell-tower, which dates back to the 17th century. Until the end of the 17th century, the monastery played a significant religious and cultural role in the education of the offspring of the noble boyar familie
