Fodor's Expert Review Panagia Spiliani Church

Enter this spacious cave and descend 95 steps to the tiny church of Panagia Spiliani (Virgin of the Grotto). Half-church, half-cavern, this most unique landmark is also called Kaliarmenissa ("for good travels"), as it houses an antique icon of the Virgin Mary that, according to legend, was stolen from Samos, carried to a far-off land, and fell from a boat and broke into pieces, all of which washed ashore on Samos. A pool in the grotto, once the sanctuary of a Roman cult, is considered to contain miracle-working water.