Cathedral of the Virgin

The interior of the main Cathedral of the Virgin is among the brightest and most colourful in Georgia. Among the frescoes, painted at various times between the 12th and 18th centuries, note especially the line of eight noble figures in the north transept: these include David the Builder (holding the church) and Bagrat III (with a cross over his left shoulder). Across the corner to the right of David are the Byzantine emperor Constantine and his wife Helena.

The apse holds a famous 1130s mosaic of the Virgin and Child, with Archangels Michael and Gabriel to the left and right respectively. The lower part of this was restored in the Soviet era by painting.