International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Ralitsa Rousseva
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Art Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria; 
[e-mail]
Monuments of Orthodox Art in the Region of Berat (13
th
–14
th
Centuries). 
Historical Context and Iconographic Trends
Throughout the Middle Ages the town of Berat (Belgrad, Beligrad) was an important 
ecclesiastic and political centre. The city passed into the hands of different states and rulers – 
Byzantium, Bulgaria, the Latin Kingdom; it was part of the Despotate of Epirus after 1261 and then 
was incorporated in the Serbian Kingdom after 1345. Belgrad was closely linked with the major 
port and metropolitan centre of Valona and most of its governors were rulers of Valona, Kanina and 
Berat. The mediaeval art in region of Berat is namely a reflection of that dynamic historical process 
and cultural accumulation.
The monuments of Orthodox art in the region of Berat and Valona cannot be treated as a 
compact stylistic group, unlike those in the region of Prespa in the 14
th
century; they are not just 
related to different artistic trends, but even a single monument combines elements of various ages 
and artistic flows. For example, the murals in the Holy Trinity Church in Berat combine archaic 
composition elements with Italian influences and contemporary Constantinople trends. The Church 
and the refectory of the Monastery in Apollonia, the Holy Trinity Church in Berat and St. Nicholas 
Church in Perundi are connected to the imperial court in Constantinople, which probably led to a 
very high level of the murals but also some unexpected themes and iconographic interpretations. 
The fragments in the cave Church in the village of Sinje are completely different and they indicate 
the durability of the archaic iconographic traditions. Apart from these trends, it is very likely that 
icon-painters from the region of Ohrid and Kastoria had worked in Berat, as attested by the nearly 
obliterated murals in the St Archangel Michael Church in Berat.
During the 13
th
and the 14
th
centuries different workshops were active in the region of Berat, 
each with a distinct preference for style, often with an archaic reminiscence, but also well acquainted 
with contemporary Constantinople art and in certain monuments influenced by Western art in 
varying degrees.

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