Discover the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina in a 12-hour guided tour from Iasi. You will visit some of the most important monastic settlements in the region (Voronet, Moldovita, and Sucevita Monasteries) and you will discover the art of creating black pottery, a craft exclusive to the region of Marginea.

You will start your tour with a visit to Romania’s most renowned monastery: Voronet, a jewel of the UNESCO Northern Heritage, whose frescoes – featuring an intense shade of blue – have become famous throughout the world. The ‘blue of Voronet’ among with the western fresco that depicts the ‘Last Judgement of Christ’, gave it the fame as the ‘Sistine Chapel of the East’. The exterior murals have preserved their hues despite centuries of inclement weather, but the ingredients used in preparing the paints are still a mystery. The scenes in the murals depict, like a movie, the history of Christianity, presented in an original manner, very much influenced by folk beliefs, by the Eastern culture, but also by the Orthodox thought.

Not far from there lies Moldovita Monastery, an architectural masterpiece in the Byzantine style. The monastery impresses with the complexity of the frescoes of its exterior walls. Moldovita Monastery, included in the UNESCO heritage list, was built between 1532 and 1537. The frescoes are an immense color illustration of Biblical scenes, adapted to the history of the place and to the important moments in the life of the community.

The next stop will be at the Sucevita Monastery, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and dominated by a shade of green, obtained through an ancient technique from natural pigments. It was built in a Moldavian style, with Gothic and Byzantine influences.

The last visit for the day will be at Marginea, a famous folk art center, best known for the black ceramics which are made here. You will witness the craft of molding clay, according to a technique unique in the world. Marginea Black Pottery, the Dacian pottery tradition, is carried on by a handful of artisans who manufacture black ceramic, according to an atypical process. The pottery made here is famous worldwide, shaped by hand by the craftsmen, fired and then polished, also by hand, transmitted from generation to generation, the secrets of which have never left Marginea.