Ikalto Monastery Complex (Region of Kakheti)
Ikalto Monastery Complex (Georgian: იყალთოს სამონასტრო კომპლექსი)The monastery complex was was founded in the 6th century by the Venerable Zenon of IKalto (Georgian: ზენონ იყალთოელი). Already in the 9th century, Ikalto was one of the important educational centers. Foundation of the Ikalto Academy (Georgian: იყალთოს აკადემია) is directly connected with the name of Arsen Ikaltoeli (Georgian: არსენ იყალთოელი) – a prominent Georgian theologian and philosopher. One of Arsen’s students was the great poet Shota Rustaveli (Georgian: შოთა რუსთაველი). A unique open-air museumმ Ikalto Monastery Complex is a journey through centuries and cultures, revealing the secrets of the past and inspiring new discoveries.
The monastic ensemble consists of several churches of VI-XIII centuries and the ruins of the famous Ikalto Academy – the largest educational institution of medieval Georgia. These are picturesque monumental ruins of a two-storied building with columns, porticoes, aisles and a wine cellar. A little to the east of the Academy building there is a grape press or winepress. It is probably the largest medieval press in Georgia, dating back to the 8th century. The Academy was used to study theology, rhetoric, astronomy, philosophy, geography, geometry, arithmetic, music and grammar, as well as practical work on winemaking and the production of jugs (kvevri)(Georgian: ქვევრი). The Academy, with its faculty of winemaking, is the first scientific institution of wine in the world known to historians.
Ikalto village (Georgian: სოფელი იყალთო), Telavi Municipality (Georgian: თელავის მუნიციპალიტეტი)