Virgin Mary Church Of Norio

Virgin Mary church of Norio is located in the village of Norio, Kvemo Kartli region, Gardabani Municipality. It dates back to the late middle ages. It is a hall church and it is built of stones and bricks. The church ends with a semicircular apse to the east. There are one window in the apse and one in the west, and two in the south and north walls. There were three windows in the south facade, but the middle one was carved and a niche space was left. The window of alter was bigger and was later narrowed. The windows are lined with brick arches. The west facade is decorated with large, brick crosses. The decorative element of the crosses can also be found on the apse, although they are smaller in size compared to the west facade. The church has two entrances – on the west and south sides, both of them are arched. The interior has been painted in the past. The church is surrounded by the wall. The two-story bell tower is included in the wall, which is also a gate. There is nothing on north side of the ground, while the other three sides are open with arches. The first floor area is smaller than the ground floor and it is open on all four sides with arches.