Isova, Gothic monastery ruin in Trypiti, Greece

Isova is a ruined Frankish monastery near Trypiti in the western Peloponnese. Its abbey church of Notre Dame is a single rectangular hall about 38.5 m long and 12.5 m wide, with a chancel projecting some 8 m east into an octagonal apse carried on six external buttresses. The west and north walls stand nearly intact, with single lancet windows under pointed arches; the south wall is partly destroyed and the east end barely survives above the foundations.

The monastery operated as a Frankish foundation between 1205 and 1263 until fire destroyed it. Turkish mercenaries fighting alongside Greek forces were responsible for setting the structure ablaze.

The monastery reflects Western European building methods that stand apart from the Byzantine style common elsewhere in the region. These differences remain visible in the walls and windows, showing how a distinct architectural tradition took root here.

The site is an open ruin with no admission fee and can be viewed from the outside. There is little shelter from the weather, so sturdy footwear and sun protection are helpful for exploring the area.

The Cistercian order is not named in any surviving document about Isova; the identification rests on two recorded requests from the Principality of Achaea for a Cistercian convent, one of which produced Zaraka. Isova, in the archdiocese of Patras, is the only known candidate for the second.