Maria in Grottaferrata near Rome but a liturgical argument prevented it from being installed and in 1886 it was offered instead to the Greek church in Cargèse. As in the Latin church, the trompe-l'œil decoration was executed in 1928-1930 by the Russian painter Nicolas Ivanoff. The frescos were the result of an initiative of Florent Marchiano, who served as the priest of the two churches from 1964 till his retirement in 2005. They were painted by a number of different artists beginning in 1987. The final four were completed in 2001: the Last Judgement on the right of the entrance, the prophet Isaiah on the left of the entrance, three recent priests (Marchiano, Chappet, and Coti) climbing stairs, and finally a large fresco at the back of the church symbolising the history of the colony (the departure from Vitylo in 1675, seeking refuge in Ajaccio in 1731 and arriving in Cargèse in 1775). The church contains four icons that were brought to Corsica with the colonists in 1676. hanging high up on the right hand side of the church near the iconostasis is the icon of the Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom. The painting is in egg tempera on a wooden panel. It dates from the last quarter of the 17th century. high on the left hand side is an icon of John the Baptist with the wings of an angel. He is dressed in animal skins and has a cross and a scroll in his right hand. The haloed head at his feet foreshadows his beheading. The painting dates from the last quarter of the 17th century and is in egg tempera on a wooden panel. An inscription in Greek gives the artist as Simeon Palaiologos, a monk from Mount Athos. above the entrance door hangs an Epitaphios, a picture of Christ being placed in his tomb, shown in bas-relief on painted wood. The three figures are Christ's mother Mary, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. behind the iconostasis is an icon of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms surrounded by golden clouds with angels and cherubs. At the bottom of the picture are Saint Spyridion and Saint Nicholas. This fourth icon is paraded through the village on feast days. Geography The commune of Cargèse is on the west coast of Corsica, 25 km 'as the crow flies' north