MONASTERY OF VORONEȚ
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Situated 5 km south of Gura Humorului, it's the most visited monastery in Bucovina, and it's not uncommon to have to queue for admission in the middle of summer. Its popularity and multiple titles (the most famous being "the Sistine Chapel of the East") are justified, however. This monastery was erected by Ștefan cel Mare in 1488, in just twenty-one days, according to legend. In fact, the bells, still in use, date back to the time of the famous Moldavian voivode! The walls of the Sfântul Gheorghe church, in typical Moldavian style, feature the most beautiful fresco in Bucovina, the very fresco that earned it the nickname of the Sistine Chapel: the Last Judgment covers the entire western wall of the veranda. This recurring scene in the monasteries of Bukovina is here detailed to the extreme. You'll recognize Jesus judging the living and the dead, the gates of Paradise, Adam and Eve and the paths that sinners and the righteous will take towards Hell or Paradise. These sinners are depicted, for the first time, according to their ethnic origin (Turks, Tatars, Armenians, Jews). All the exterior murals were painted in 1547, under Petru Rareș.
The place is famous for the color known as "Voroneț blue", which fascinates with its unique transparency and whose manufacturing secret remains untold. This blue background wonderfully brings out the details of the many richly colored figures, religious personalities or local figures. Peasants are also recognizable.
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