Nea Moni is the most important sightseeing of the island and is considered as a monument of international importance. The painting and its architecture place it between the most important Byzantine churches in Greece. The culture and the scientific research certify that Nea Moni was an emperor’s building.
The foundation of the monastery is connected with three monks from Chios, Nikitas, Ioannis and Iosif that they found a miraculous picture of Virgin Mary (Panagia) in the place of the current temple. When Konstantinos Monomachos was enthroned, he helped economically the construction of catholic and the other buildings and he dowered the monastery with land and special revenues. Other emperors also followed his example making Nea Moni one of the richer and most famous monasteries of Aegean.
There is a big number of information and reports relative to the foundation of the monastery. According to them an architect was sent from Istanbul. He put into practice the architectural plan that three fathers of a small church ( named S. Apostoles) had chosen. The church was decorated with mosaics made by painters from Istanbul. For many years Nea Moni was considered the most important religious centre of Chios. The decline begins in the 19th century with certain economic difficulties and later with the destruction of 1822. The Turks ruined and destroyed everything. The catholic was fired, the archive and the library were scattered and the monastery remained abandoned for years. With the earthquake of Chios in 1881 the dome (troulos) and the belfry were demolished and the mosaics suffered big damage. The monastery was turned into a woman monastery after the Second World War.