Hospitality has always been important at this atmospheric stone complex, just off the highway north of Petrovac. Until the 19th century, the Paštrovići would leave a bottle of wine here for passers-by, one of whom in 1226 was King Stefan the First-Crowned of the Serbian Nemanjić dynasty. It was he who founded the smaller church of the complex, the Church of the Dormition (Crkva Uspenja Bogorodice).
Once your eyes adjust to the dark interior you’ll be able to make out fine frescoes covering the walls. The frescoes in the larger Church of the Holy Trinity (Crkva Sv Trojice; 1770) were repainted in the 1970s (the church was badly burnt during WWII) and hence are much more vivid. The iconostasis was painted by Petrovac local Marko Gregović.
Both churches are holding up well considering that they’ve survived attacks by Ottoman, French and Italian armies. There’s usually an elderly black-robed nun holding the fort in the small gift shop selling religious icons and homemade olive oil and honey. Local tradition tells of a Greek or Roman temple and cemetery that once stood on this site.
Just down the hill from the monastery is Perazića Do , a small sandy beach bookended by rocky headlands, overshadowed by a hideously large, seemingly abandoned hotel development. Near the highway a stone building (1856) was once a school and now houses a museum , gallery and library devoted to the Paštrović tribe, although you’ll be lucky to find it open.
