In the place of a small church built by three Chian monks, John, Nikitas and Joseph to house the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, was founded in the mid 11th century the magnificent monastery complex of Nea Moni of Chios. The construction of Nea Moni relates, according to tradition, to the prophecy of the three monks about the rise of Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1055) to the imperial throne. After his coronation Constantine, as a reward for the prophecy, build a new church for the Virgin Mary, satisfying the monks’ request. The catholicon was built and decorated with the lavish imperial sponsorship, and inaugurated in 1045; later the monastery received many privileges and donations from Constantine Monomachos and the emperors after him. Nea Moni was modeled after the little church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople; it is an octagonal-type church with a narthex and exonarthex , also known as nisiotikos. It is the oldest and most complete example of the type and displays the strong architectural influence of the capital.
The characteristic of this type is that the octagonal shape of the church is not surrounded by the perimeter of the building, but is formed as the square nave is converted into an octagon in the upper floors, through four narrow squinches in the corners, on which the twelve-sided dome in based; the dome rests on the exterior walls without the mediation of internal supports, thus offering an impressive result. Similar to the architectural character of the monument is the interior decoration. The luxurious marble revetments combined with the brilliant mosaic compositions attest to the economic prosperity and welfare, and the imperial care to help the monasteries and the religious institutions of this period. The mosaics of Nea Moni, works of high artistic quality which reflect the trends of the capital, as far from the spirituality and abstraction of the decoration of the Monasteries of Daphni and St. Luke. The correct use of color, the golden background and the structuring of the multi-person compositions give expressiveness and deep spirituality to the forms. As a typical example of a Byzantine monastic complex, Nea Moni was protected by high walls, which enclosed the catholic, the refectory, the cistern and the cells. Nea Moni sustained significant damage in 1822, when it was burned and looted by the Ottomans, and by the 1881 strong earthquake. In 1990 Nea Moni, the Monastery of Daphni and Hosios Loukas were included in the International List of World Heritage of UNESCO, as a unique artistic achievement and an excellent example of an architectural whole.