Church Architecture in the Despotate of Epirus:

The Problem of Influences

Panayotis L. Vocotopoulos

UDK 726.033.2 (495.33)"12"

The aricle deals with the various influences discernible in monuments of that school proceeds thanks to the works of
the ecclesiastical architecture of the Despotate of Epirus scholars such as Charalampos oura as? Aleksander ~ e k s i , ~
c.). According to the analysis given in the text, the Pirro ~ h o m o , 6Myrtali ~chimastou-~otamianou? Nikolaos
antecedents of the church architecture of this byzantine
state must be sought in the local tradition and in the
Nikonanos (for the monuments of ~ h e s s a l ~ )Horst
,' ~qtdns-
leben? Lioba hei is," Evangelia ~ a ~ a t h e o ~ h a n o u s - ~ s o u r i , "
8
Helladic school, but also in the architecture of Aphrodite pasaliI2 and the author of the present paper,"
Constantinople, Macedonia and the West. who also attempted short overall surveys of the architecture
of the ~ e s ~ 0 t a t eThey
. l ~ had been preceded by the entry
A notable local school of architecture flourished in "Epiros" of the late Professor Demetrios Pallas in the Real-
the thirteenth century in the state founded in western Greece lexikon zur byzantinischen ~ u n s t , a' ~survey of Byzantine
after the dismemberment of the Byzantine Empire by the architecture in the thirteenth century by the Jubilar of the
participants in the Fourth Crusade. That state, ruled by the present ~ o l u m e ,and
' ~ the relevant section of Cyril Mango's
Komnenos Doukas family related to the Byzantine emperors book on Byzantine architecture.@~eor~e Velenis formula-
Isaakios II and Alexios III,and commonly called in modem
@ 1
research the Despotate of Epirus, had its capital in Arta,
Ch. Bouras, "AyroqZripavoq PrBiov 'A~apvaviaq,'En~qvovuci)'ERE-
expanded very rapidly and almost succeeded in recapturing qpiq I l o k m e ~ v t ~CxoAij~
q Ilavsnlqpiov OsooaXoviiqq, 3, 1968,
Constantinople from the ati ins.' Few buildings are ascribed 4 1-56.
to the first three decades of the thirteenth century, the period "ee e.g. his articles L'architecture de l'iglise de Mesopotame, Monu-
mentet, 3, 1972, 47-94; Les trois kglises byzantines de Berat, ibid., 4,
of consolidation and expansion of the new state. An impor- 1972.59- 102; L'architecture de I'iglise de Perondi et sa resrauration,
tant building activity is witnessed during the reign of ibid., 5-6, 1973, 19-42; Nouvelles donnie.7 sur I'iglise de Mesopotame,
ibid., 10, 1975, 151-159.
Michael II (c. 1231- 1268), when the Despotate was gradual- 9. Thomo, Deux monuments de norre architecture mldiivale. Les igli-
ly confined to western Greece and Thessaly, and that of his ses cruciformes 6 coupole de Kosine et de Berat, Studime Historike,
son Nikephoros (1268-1296), otherwise a period of decline. XXVI.4, 1972,51-62.
No noteworthy structures were erected after the fall of the M. Achimastou-Potarnianou, Nia osorxda rrepi njq Movjq soij 'Ayiov
Nr~oAhur& N ~ i h o v&iq r j v Nijuov T&v h a v v i v w v , 'ApXarohoy1~6v
Komnenodoukas dynasty in 1318. Askrbv, 24, 1969, fasc. A, 152-175.
If one excepts the pioneering but obsolescent articles h.Nikonanos, BuCavrrvoi vaoi rijq Ocuudicq irr6 ~6 100 aihva OC
r j v ~a~dr'drmqq cijq q r o X j q i r 6 7&4- ToOp~ovq~6 1393, Athens
of Friderikos Versakis and Demetrios Evangelidis, both clas- 1979.
sical a r ~ h a e o l o ~ i s tthe
s , ~ foundations for the study of the H. Hallensleben, Die architekturgeschichtliche Sfellung dcr Kirche Sv.
architecture of the Despotate were laid by the prominent Bogorodica Peribleptos (Sv. Klimenr) in Ohrid, MusCe ArchCologique
de MacCdoine. Recueil des Travaux, VI-VII, 1967-1974 (MClange Di-
Greek architectural historian Anastasios Orlandos, who, mEe Koco), 297-3 16.
however, published only books and articles on individual 10
L. Theis, Die Architektur der Kirche Panagia Paregorefisso in Artal
monuments.' The publication or reassessment of various Epirus, Amsterdam 1991.
" E. Papatheophanous-Tsouri, 'H i ~ ~ d q urijq i a 'Ayiaq AiKm&pivt]qNijuov
n&pr8&iaqurtjv Kipmpa, 'Hn&lpwrl~& Xpov1~424,1982, 183-202.
12
A. Pasali, 'H Meydq navayrh urtjv l7apapoR1Li O~mpwricq,DChAE,
I On the history of the Despotate of Epirus see mainly D. Nicol, The Des- 19, 1996-1997, 369-393.
potare r,fEpiros. Oxford, 1957; P. Soustal-J. Koder, Nikopolis und Ke- 13
P. L. Vocotopou~os,h'apavptjuerq dm rijq Ravayiaq T& M ~ p v h v q ,
phallenia (TIB, 3), Vienna, 1981, 59-70; D. Nicol, The Despotate of ' A p ~ a ~ o h o y ~Ashriov,
~ b v 28, 1973, fasc. A, 159-168; idem,'O va6g T&
Epiros 1267-1479, Cambridge, 1984; and idem in M. B. Sakellariou llavro~pdrropoqor6 Movaon]p&r B o v i ~ q q ,DChAE. 10, 1980-198 1,
(ed.), Epirus. 4000 Years of Greek History and Civilization, Athens, 357-377; idem, '0 v d q rijq navayiaq cmjv h'p&~.6vr[a cijq 'AKapvaviaq,
1997.198-222. Byzantium. Tribute to Andreas N. Stratos, Athens 1986.1,251-275. Reports
See e.g. F. Versakis, Bv~avrratc6qva6q dv Atvivrocp, 'ApXalohoyl~bv on the excavation of the very important Pantanassa near Philippias have
A~kriov,1, 1915.28-44; D. Evangelidis, B~avsrvLipvqpda rijq 'Hmi- appeared in AAA, V, VI and X (1 972, 1973, 1976) and in Pnktika 1977,
pov, 'Hn~lpW~llc& Xpovt~b,6, 1931, 258-274; idem, 'H /?~avsrvtj;K- 1987-1994, 1996.
d q u i a rijqtAy. Kuproxijq T& r a p s r ~ i o v(li'qapuRr~?q),'Aqdpopa dq 14
P. L. Vocotopoulos, L'architertura bizanrina nelia Grecia occidentale
j v "Hns~povd q pwjpqv Xpimou k6kq. Athens 1956. 129-136. di rerraferma, in: A. Alpago Novell -G. Dimitrokallis (ed.), L'arte Bi-
$part from his monograph on the Paregoritissa CH ~ a p ~ o p i j r i u urijq
A p q q Athens 1963) and from the second volume of his periodical 'Ap-
a
!
iantina in Grecia. Milano 1995. 83 9; idem. Local Schoolr in Middle
and Late Byzantine Architecture, in. Byzantium. Identity, Image, Influ-
1'
~Eiovrijv B ~ m ~ v iMqwiwvjv rijq 'Ehhdr6- published in 1936 and ence, XIX International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Copenhagen
devoted to the monuments of the region of Arta, see M y p d a r& Acu- 1996,504-505; idem, Art under the "Despotate" of Epirus, in: Epirus.
TOT~~TO njq
V 'Hr&~)ou. 'H h'avayia B&&-q, 'Hnsrpor~~& H ~ O V I2,K ~ 4000 Years of Greek History and Civilization (as in note I), 224-229.
1927, 153-169; EK T& JYvQvrrv& ~drorpooTGV h a v v i v w v , ibid., 5,
1930.7-8; 'H ndpra navayr~ir r j O ~ C U U ~ ~ABME, ~ C I, 1935,5-40; '0
" RbK, l I, col. 257-283.289-316.323-326,
gv 'A~apvaviaJY~avrrv6q va6q @ s .h'daro~mo0vaq,ABME, 9, 1961, '9. KoraC, L'architecture byzantine au XIIF siPcle, L'art byzantin du
21-42; T6 qpofiprov T& 'Ayy&,lo~drmpoo, ibid., 54-72. XIIIc sikcle. Symposium de SopoCani 1965, Beograd 1967.14-15. 79
 Fig. 1 Arta, St Nicholas Rodias. Exterior from the southwest

ted sagacious remarks on the school of the ~ e s ~ o t a t e , ' ~ The architecture of the Despotate of Epirus is charac- 7
while Constantine Tsouris included a short history of the terized by the great variety of church types used. The more
architecture of northwest Greece in his excellent doctoral common ones are the cross-in-square, the cross-vaulted
thesis on the brick decoration of the monuments of that church and the aisleless chapel.
region during the Late Byzantine period.'9 The latest survey Most cross-in-square churches belong to the variant,
of the architecture of the Despotate is to be found in the where the dome is supported by the walls separating the
recent Architecture of the Byzantine World by Professors sanctuary from the prothesis and diakonikon, and by two
Vojislav KoraC and Marica Suput.20 columns or piers. This variant, attested in St Nicholas Ro-
The architecture of the Despotate was rooted in the dias near Arta (fig. St George at Angelokastron in
tradition of the Pre-Helladic school which flourished in the ~ i t o l i a ?the
~ church of the Pantokrator at Monastiraki in
eighth, ninth and tenth century in southern Greece, the Pelo- ~ k a r n a n i a ?the
~ Panagia (Red Church) at ~ o u l ~ a r e and
li,~~
ponnese and ~ ~ i r u sbut ~ ' ,assimilated various influences, also in buildings of nearby regions imitating Epirote models,
and affected in its turn neighbouring regions, such as Thes- like the Omorphokklisia near ast to ria^' or the Holy Trinity
saly and Western Macedonia, which had been incorporated and the Vlacherna at ~ e r a t , ~is* typical of the Helladic
for shorter or longer periods in the state of the "Komneno- school prevailing in southern Greece during the eleventh,
. ~ ~contribution to the volume of Zograf dedi-
d ~ u k a d e s " My twelfth and thirteenth centuries.29 The Megali Panagia at
cated to Professor KoraC will investigate the various in-
fluences discernible in the ecclesiastical architecture of the
23 A. K. Orlandos, '0 2 7 1 0 ~
N ~ d l a o qrijq PoiSdq, ABME, 2,1936,131-147.
24
Idem, Bv(im~v& pvqpnla rijq AirwAoatcapvavia~ABME, 9. 1961.68-73.
2' P. L. Vocotopoulos, '0 v d q roc navso~pbropoqG T ~ Movao'rtjpb~~ Bovi-
r q q , DChAE, 10, 1980-1981,357-377.
Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 4Ih revised 26 H, Hallensleben,Die archilekturgeschichtliche Stellung der Kirche Sv,
edition, New Haven-London 1986, does not examine the monuments of Bogorodica Peribleptos (note 9), 304-315.
the Despotate of Epirus as a separate group.
27 E. Stikas, Une iglise des Paiologues aux environs de Castoria, BZ,
IX G. Velenis, Hermeneia, 41-44, 97-98, 126-127, 186-189, 270-273,
51, 1958, 100-112.
299-300; idem, Thirteenth-Century Architecture in Epirus, 279-285. 28
A. Meksi, Les trois iglises byzantines de Berat, Monumentet, 4, 1972,
IY K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 209-227. cn r nq
'" V. Korad - M. Suput, Arhitektura Viizantijskog Sveta, Belgrade 1998,
J7-IUL.

a The term g'Helladic school,, is to be preferred to the current ,'Greek

3 18-328. school", which has sometimes been misinterpreted as referring to a
P. L. Vocotopoulos, Architecture of the 7'"-10"cent. national Greek school, thereby implying that the buildings of other
22
See K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 224-226, and P. L. Vocotopoulos, Art un- regions of the Byzantine realm, such as Constantinople, Asia Minor or
80 der the "Despotate" of Epirus (as in note 14). 229. Thrace were not built by Greeks. There is no up-to-date comprehensive
 Fig. 2 Pantanassa. Ground plan

Paramythia also belongs to that type, but has a longitudinal belong to the composite four-column variant with extra bays
barrel vault instead of a dome." The comer bays are covered for the sanctuary, characteristic of Constantinopolitan archi-
either by longitudinal barrel vaults, typical of the Helladic tecture." Although there are also many examples of this va-
school, or by dornical vaults, which are also often encounte- riant in the Helladic school, other metropolitan features of
red in two-column cross-in-square churches in southern Gre- these churches, e.g. the four subsidiary domes or the blind
e ~ e . The
~ ' type of the single-naved cross-in-square chapel of arches and niches articulating their exterior, point to the
St Stephen at Rivion (Akamania) is encountered mainly in the school of Constantinople. Velenis, however, suggests that the
Aegean islands and Cyprus, but its masonry and formal ele- immediate models used by the Epirote builders must be
ments imitate south Greek models." Two churches, the Pan- sought not in the capital itself but in Lascarid architecture and
tanassa near Philippias (fig. 2) and the initial Paregoritissa, more specifically in Church E of ~ a r d i s . ~ ~

treatment of that school. One has to refer to G. Millet's pioneering work Ch. Bouras, as in note 4.
L'ecole grecque dans l'architecture Byzantine, Paris 1916, and to 33 On the Pantanassa, founded by Michael I1 in the 1240s. see P. L. Voco-
numerous articles by H. Megaw, A. Orlandos, Ch. Bouras and other topoulos, in AAA and Praktika, as in note 13. On the Paregoritissa see
scholars. A. K. Orlandos, Paregoritissa and L. Theis, op. cit. (note 10). G. Vele-
30
A. Pasali, 'H MqMq Uavayrdr 6 j v l7apcyrvOrh Osmpwriaq, DChAE, nis, Thirteenth-Century Architecture in Epirus, 280-281, and L. Theis
19, 1996-1997, 369-370, fig. 1-3,5-6. have proved that the existing building, dated to the early 1290s. incor-
31
S. Mamaloukos, Uapanlpljocrg 6 j v S~a,udppwq7 6 v ywvlm3v Slaps- porates the lower part of a mid-thirteenth century church. Theis and K.
propdrrwv r 6 v iir~roviwvcrravposrSc.5~&~ypcyrpEvwv v a 3 v njq 'EMdr- Tsouris (Diakosmos, 242 note 80) believe that the original Paregoritissa
60g, DChAE, 14, 1987-1988, 189-204. Barrel-vaults are used at St Ni- was a church on squinches, while Velenis argues that it was a compo-
cholas Rodias, the Panagia at Voulgareli, the Omorphokklisia, the Me- site cross-in-square structure. Mrs. 9. Papadopoulou of the Ephoreia of
gali Panagia; domical vaults in the Pantokrator near Monastiraki, St Byzantine Antiquities of Ioannina informs me that trial trenches indi-
George at Angelokastron, the Holy Trinity at Berat. cate that Velenis' view is the correct one. 81
 Fig. 3 Arta, Kato Panagia. Exterior from the southeast

Three of the eleven surviving three-aisled cross-

vaulted churches with one pair of columns (the Panagia tou
Bryoni near ~ r t a , " the Taxiarches at ~ostaniani" and St
Demetrius in the region of ~hanari"), and the Kato Panagia
in Arta, where the aisles are separated by three pairs of
columns (fig. 3)," were erected in the Despotate of Epirus,
while the Porta Panagia in Thessaly, which imitates the
Kato Panagia, was built by the local ruler John Doukas, an
illegitimate son of Michael 11." The Panagia tou Bryoni is
dated to 1238, while the Kato Panagia (and also the single-
naved cross-vaulted church of the Transfiguration near Ga-

.* G. Velenis, ibid., 281. On the Sardis church see H. Buchwald, Sardis

Church E. A Preliminary Report, JOB, 26, 1977, 264-299; idem,
Church Ear Sardis and rhe Conrriburion ofAsia Minor to the Architec-
tural Vocabulary of the 13"' Century, Actes du XVc Congrks Interna-
tional d' 6tudes Byzantines, IIA, Athens 1981.93-98.
'9 K.. Orlandos, 'H Uavayia roi, Mxpvhvq, ABME, 2,1936, 51-56; P.
L. Vocotopoulos, Ilaparqpijocrq i m T+c I l a v a y i a ~roi, Mrpvhvq, 'Ap-
~ a l o h y ~ ~Ashriov,
bv 28, 1973, fasc. A, 159-168. G. Velenis, Thirte-
enth-Century Archirecture in the Despotate of Epirur, 279-280, identi-
fies the original church as a cross-vaulted structure.
30
D. Evangelidis, Bv[anlv& pvqpcia T+c 'Hmipou, 'HREI~MIK& Xpovl-
K&, 6, 1931,258-274.
37
P. L. Vocotopoulos, 'H xliv81vq &rypa& n j q M o v i j ~roij 2 y i o u A q p v -
piov 0715 @avapr rijq 'Hmipoo., 'EUqv~~br, 39, 1988, 164-167. A mo-
nograph on this monument is being prepared by the author of the pre-
sent paper.
'' A. K. Orlandos, 'H M o v j T+q Khrw Ilavayrdq, ABME, 2, 1936.70-87.
In this church the central bay of the transverse vault is raised above its
Fig. 4 Arta, Paregoritissa. Isometric view lateral bays.
30
(after Orlandos) Idem, 'HI7dpra-ITavayr& rijq O ~ o o d i a qABME,
, 1, 1935,540.
 Fig. 5 Arta, Paregoritissa. Exterior from the northeast

laxidi40) were built by Michael II, probably in the 1240s;

they therefore belong to the early examples of that type,
which was confined to southern Greece, Epirus, Thessaly,
the region of Ochrid and some Aegean i ~ l a n d s . One ~ ' might
be tempted to assign to Epirus the invention of that church
type, but examples in other regions, not dated by inscrip-
tions or written sources - such as St George at Androussa in
Messenia, dated by Bouras to the early thirteenth century42-
may be earlier than the firmly dated ones and there are hints
of a possible Western origin of the type.4'
Aisleless chapels are usually timber-roofed, as was
the rule during the preceding period in mainland ~ r e e c e . ~ ~
The type was mainly used for modest structures and most
examples preserved are situated far from urban centres. Fig. 6 Mesopotamon, St Nicholas.
In the Paregoritissa, one of the most original creations Reliefs of a tree and a lion on the east fagade
of Byzantine architecture, combining an octagon with a cross-
in-square, the central space is higher than it is wide, as is the rule in Gothic buildings (fig. 4 ) . 4 9 h e exterior of the building
does not correspond to the layout of the interior, contrary to
Byzantine practice (fig. 5). The massive cubic structure, with
411
P. L. Vocotopoulos, napaqpljmrq mi,v vab roij C o r j p o ~~ o v r hmi, flat surfaces and two rows of big double-light windows,
rda&iSr, DChAE, 17,1993-1994,199-210.
41
On cross-vaulted churches see A. K. Orlandos, Oi maupmim&yor vaoi
recalls Italian palaui of the Early Renaissance.
rjq 'E,U&Soq,ABME, I, 1935,41-50; H. M. Kiipper, Der Bautypus der The church of St Nicholas at Mesopotamon is also
griechischen Dnchtranseptkirche, Amsterdam 1990; M. Doris, Upbra-
0-q yrh njv m~roAoyiarGv oraupmim~wvvaCv. Athens 1991.
unique in its plan. It is a twohisled structure with two domes
I,
fl -
42
Ch. Bouras, '0"Ayroqrcchpyroq rjq 'AvSpofiqq,Xaptsrflptov d<'Ava- in each aisle, supported by a single column in the centre,
maorov K. 'OpMv6ov, 2, Athens 1964,270-285.
43
See for example H. M. Kiipper, op. cir., 90-91, 151-155.
44
St Basil at Arta, the Alychniotissa near Vonitsa, St George near Stamna in Aitolia is barrel-vaulted. On single-naved churches of the Middle
in Aitolia, St Nicholas Ntiliou on the island of Ioannina, the Kokkini Byzantine period see P. L. Vocotopoulos, Architecture of the 7'"-ld"
Panagia near Konitsa, St Kyriaki in Gardiki, St Catherine in northern cent., 105-106.
Corfu were all timber-roofed, while the Holy Apostles near Neromanna 45
A. K. Orlandos, Paregoritissa, passim. 83
 teenth-century St Menas at Monodendri in ~ ~ i r u s ,and " was
also used in Southern Serbia at Staro NagoriCino, MatejiC,
PsaCa and Markov ~anastir." -
Many churches of the Despotate are flanked from the0r-
mid-thirteenth century onwards by porticos, which are either
contemporary with the churches they flank, as in the second
phase of the Paregoritissa and the church of the Virgin at
Preventza (Akarnania), or were added later, as in the church
of St Theodora at Arta, and at Pantanassa near Philippias.
They may be symmetrical, as in the Paregoritissa and the
church of Christ Pantocrator at Monastiraki, near Vonitsa,
or they may not, as at Pantanassa (fig. 2) and St Demetrius
in the region of Phanari. They are either open, as in the
Pantanassa and in St Theodora at Arta, or closed, as in the
Paregoritissa and the Panagia at Preventza. Chapels are
often positioned at the East end of the lateral porticoes.s2
Ambulatories, lateral porticos and chapels are alien to
the local tradition. Symmetrical lateral chapels appear in the
early tenth century in the church of Constantine Lips in
Constantinople; they are combined with lateral porticos or
an ambulatory in the early churches of the Rus', which
Fig. 7 Vlacherna. Upper part of the north apse follow Constantinopolitan m o d e l s ~ h n dare attested during
from the southeast the Palaiologan period in the capital, Thessaloniki, Serbia
and Mistra. The examples in Mistra, Thessaloniki and Ser-
and had originally two apses. A narthex covered by three bia are later in date than those in Epirus. We therefore deal
domical vaults communicates with the aisles through a col- with a Constantinopolitan feature adopted by Epirote buil-
onnade. The appearance of the building is even more clum- ders during the reign of Michael 11, which became very po-
sy than that of the Paregoritissa. The lower part of the exte- pular under Nikephoros I. -
rior is faced with neatly hewn marble blocks, decorated with A transverse vaulted passage may lead from the .f
real and imaginary animals, carved in low relief in romanes- entrance of the loggia to a lateral door of the naos, e.g. at
1 que style (fig. 6).46 Preventza, Monastiraki, Mesopotamon and St Basil at Arta.
Many churches did not originally have a narthex. The same happens at the Omorphokklisia near Kastoria.
7 When they do, it is generally of modest size. An exception
is the katholikon of the monastery of the Panagia at Moly-
Such an arrangement is attested in the ruined chuch at Dili-
skelesi in Bithynia which, judging from its five-sided apses,
vdoskepastos, where the narthex is much larger than the should be dated after the eleventh century." It is more
triconch-shaped naos. The Molyvdoskepastos narthex is probable that the monuments of the Despotate follow also in
also exceptional because of its longitudinal cross-vaulted this respect a metropolitan tradition than vice versa.
form.47Narthexes are usually tripartite, with lateral bays co- Two masonry techniques prevail in the Despotate:
vered by transverse barrelvaults, as in the Helladic school, The cloisonnC technique on the one hand, and on the other
but in the central bay the higher longitudinal barrel-vault roughly hewn stones in regular courses alternating with sin-
customary in southern Greece is usually replaced by a do- gle brick courses, with horizontally laid brick fragments ad-
mica1 vault. ded to fill the vertical joints (fig. 3, 7). This masonry tech-
In four churches - the Kato Panagia, the Porta Pana- nique, rooted in the local t r a d i t i ~ n is
, ~practically
~ confined
gia, the Megali Panagia at Paramythia and the church at to Epirus. CloisonnC, which is more widespread, employs
Mesopotamon - the narthex is not separated from the naos dressed stones in regular courses, framed horizontally and
by a Such an arrangement is attested in St Nicholas
in Korthion on the island of ~ n d r o s ; survives
~ in the seven-
'I' P. L. Vocotopoulos, '0 v&q roij 'Ayiou Mqva' or6 MovoSkvipr roij Za-
i ~ < 4 v " A h q , I , Athens 1979, 1 l I , fig. 4.
yopiov, ' E ~ ~ k q o p&&
51
A. Deroko, Monumentaina i dekorafivna arhitektura u srednjevekovnoj
46
A. Meksi, L'architeaure de I'.4glise de Mesopotame, Monumentet, 3, Srbiji, Belgrade 1985, fig. 252,257,260,262.
52
1972, 47-94; idem, Nouvelles donndes sur I'iglise de Mesopotame. P. L. Vocotopoulos, '0v d ~roij . I7avrorcpkopog or6 Movcwrqph~rBovi-
ibid., 10, 1975, 151-159. r q q , DChAE, 10, 1980-1981, 370-373. L. Theis, op. cit. (note 10). 90-
47 Other cross-vaulted narthexes are those of St George at Sfaka in 105, 108-109. Cf. Sl. Curtit, Gratanica. King Milufin's Church and
Phthiotis, and of the katholikon of the monastery of the Panagia Spi- Its Place in Lnte Byzantine Architecture, University Park-London
taiotissa in the Zgori region north of Ioannina, dating however from 1979.80-85.
1665; see Ch. Bouras, '0 vabq roij 'Ayioo rcopyiou cmjv Z q b ~ a0 6 1 ~ 5 - 53 V. Lazarev, Regard sur I'art de la Russie pr&mongole,Cahiers de Civi-
rrdo~,'E~~hqcri&< e v 'EUhSa pnir rilv " A h q , 111, Athens 1989, lisation mtditvale, XIII, 1970, 196, 199,201. C. Mango, Byzantine Ar-
171-177; E. Konkhylaki, 'H I7avayia Z ~ ~ a r h r r u u' A a p i q q Zayopiou, chitecture, New York 1976, 324-329.
ibid., 11, Athens 1982,50, fig. 3-5. 54
SI. Curtit, op. cit., 82-83; P. L. Vocotopoulos, '0 vahg roij n a v a y i a ~
48
A. K. Orlandos, 'H Mowj n j K~ h o I7avaydq, ABME, 2,1936,75, fig.4; cmjv Ii'pcj%nCa rijq 'A~apvaviaq,Byzantium. Tribute to Andreas N.
idem, 'H I7dpra Ravayrir nj5 e c u u d i a ~ABME,
, 1 , 1935, l I , fig. 3-4; A. Stratos, Athens 1986, I , 268-270.
Pasali, 'H M q d q I7avay& onjv I7apquuBr& Ocmpmiaq, DChAE, 19,
1996-1997, 370, 379 fig. 3.
" Idem, Architecture of the 7"'-lG"' cent., 143-145, 248. This technique,
typical of the Pre-Helladic school, survives in several buildings of the
4y D. Vassiliadis, Bu[avrrv& pvqpda r i j ~ '!4vSpov, 'Apxalohoyu+ 'Eqqp- Helladic school, where it is occasionally combined with cloisonnC; see
84 pis 1960, 18-1 9, fig. 2. idem in 'EUqvr~dr,32, 1980,379.
 vertically by bricks; it is encountered all over the Despotate, of St Demetrius in the plain of Phanari. In the Megali Pa-
often with double vertical bricks (fig. s).'~ It is a hallmark of nagia at Paramythia the central apse is three-sided while the
the Helladic school, but its origins may be traced to the Ear- lateral ones are rounded; this is a feature encountered in ma-
ly Christian period" while its immediate antecedents are ny churches of different periods in many regions.68 In the
found in the late-ninth and early-tenth century churches of church of Paramythia it was perhaps borrowed from the
Kastoria, where, however, the stones are roughly hewn." It ruined St Photeine in nearby ~ h o t i k e In . ~ a~ few cases the
is encountered in the southern parts of the Despotate already apse has a different form in its lower and upper part: roun-
in the early eleventh centurys9 and should be ascribed to the ded and five-sided in the north apse of the Vlacherna near
influence of the Helladic school. Arta, rounded and seven-sided in the church of St Deme-
The original core of the church of Pantanassa, built trius at Molyvdoskepastos, five- and three-sided in the main
by Michael TI of Epirus in the mid-thirteenth century, and apse of St Demetrius in the Phanari region. The five-sided
the ruined and poorly documented St Demetrius at Moly- apses of the original St Nicholas at Mesopotamon and of the
vdoskepastos, are built of alternating courses of roughly Panagia at Molyvdoskepastos are probably inspired from
hewn stones and of This is a metropolitan feature, Macedonian models.
encountered only occasionally outside Constantinople and It is noteworthy that the apses of the twin churches of
the neighbouring provinces of Bithynia and ~ h r a c e . ~The ' St Nicholas and the Taxiarches at Mokista in Aitolia, of the
use of the recessed course technique, typical of Constanti- late thirteenth century, are rectangular.70 Three explanations
nopolitan architecture but already attested in Thessaloniki in have been advanced for the occurrence of this uncommon
the Panagia Chalkeon, dated 1028:~ has been observed in feature in some Byzantine churches: Western influence, al-
the brick courses of the ~antanassa:' the arches of the apse though the rectangular apses of Frankish churches are much
windows of the Koimesis at ~ o l ~ v d o s k e ~ a s tand o s ~also
, larger and have a different use, the imitation of Syrian
in some arches and brick bands in the castle of Berat, belon- models of the Early Christian period, and constructional
ging to the structures erected by the despot of Epirus Mi- consideration^.^' In our case the reason for the adoption of
chael I (c. 1204-1215)~" that unusual form is probably the reuse of large ancient
1
"7-
.r. Barrel vaults, usually made of brick, predominate; ashlar blocks.
groin vaults are encountered in some buildings, as the Pare- Three-sided apses are often enlivened by blind arches
goritissa, the narthex of the Megali Panagia at Paramythia, in ther lateral facets. This is a practice alien to the Pre-
the West portico of the Pantanassa and the greater part of Helladic and the Helladic school. Three-sided apses with
the ambulatory of St Theodora in Arta. In the Pantanassa blind arches are first attested in Macedonia in the twelfth
and St Theodora the groin vaults'have stone ribs, which are century (St. Demetrius at Aiani). In Epirus the lateral blind
decorated in the Pantanassa by two convex mouldings, with arches, current from the mid-thirteenth century onwards, are
a wedge-shaped projection between them.66 sometimes lower than the window of the central facet,
& Apses are usually three-sided, as in the Helladic
school. Rounded apses, typical of the Pre-Helladic scho01,6~
imitating some three-sided apses in churches of the Despo-
tate with windows on each facet, where the central window
survive in minor monuments, like St Nicholas Ntiliou on the is higher, especially under Michael 11.'~ The three-sided
island of the Lake of Ioannina or a chapel of the monastery apses of the Paregoritissa, articulated by blind arcades and
niches in two tiers, are probably derived from Constanti-
nopolitan models (fig. 5).
J
56
Idem, '0v d q r d l7avsoKpdrropoq or6 Movcwrqp&cr Bovirqq (as in note The churches of the Despotate have usually straight
I-
52), 374.
gables, as was the case in the Pre-Helladic and the Helladic
57 Idem, in Praktika 1979, 123, pl. 87a.
5X
N. K. Moutsopoulos, ' h d q u i ~ njq q Kaoropr~?~, Thessaloniki 1992, school. Curved gables, reminiscent of metropolitan architec-
96- 100. ture, are encountered in the Red Church at Voulgareli (fig.
5')
E. g. in the church of the Panagia at Koronisia: P. L. Vocotopoulos, 8), the church of St Demetrius at Phanari, and the church of
Architecture of the 7'"-10'"cent., 54, pl. 35b.
60 the Virgin at Kosina near ~ r e m e t i ~ e r m e t In
. ~ 'some cases,
On the coursed masonry of the Pantanassa see P. L. Vocotopoulos in
AAA, V, 1972, 92, fig. 93. The lower courses are built in cloisonnC:
idem in AAA, VI, 408, fig. I . St Demetrius at Molyvdoskepastos, dated
by D. Nicol to the eleventh century (The churches of Molyvdoskepas-
tos, BSA, 48, 1953, 146-147). should be rather assigned to the Palaio- m See e.g. Ch. Delvoye, Etudes d'architecture pal6ochre'tienne et byzan-
logan period, as suggested by D. Pallas (RbK, I I, col. 302-303). tine, 11. L'abside, Byzantion, 32, 1962,537 note 2, or P. L. Vocotopou-
hI
P. L. Vocotopoulos, The Role of Constantinopolitan Architecture du- los, n&pi njv ~povoldyrlurvr d i v KE~KO&v a d rGv 'Ayiwv 'Idruwvoq
ring the Middle and Late Byzantine Period, JOB, 3112, 1981 (XVI. In- K& Lwcnmirpov, DChAE, 5, 1966-1969, 159.3 15.
ternationaler Byzantinistenkongress,Akten, 1/2), 556. 60 E. Tsigaridas, E i & j u & i q ;@&mrpwriaq,
~ AAA, 11, 1969,46.
62
On this technique cf. idem, The Concealed Course Technique: Further 7" A. Paliouras, BvCavriMj AiroAoa~apvavia,Athens 1985, 225, 226, fig.
Examples and a Few Remarks, JOB, 28, 1979,247-260; R. Ousterhout, 232, 233.
Observations on the "Recessed Brick Technique" during the Palaeo- 71
logan Period, 'Ap~a~ohoyt~bv A~hriov,39, 1984, fasc. A, 163-170. S. Voyatzis, '0 va6q r d 'Ayiov X a p d & r o w Kdapdrraq, DChAE, 16,
63 1991-1992, 93; A. K. Orlandos, A60 Bv[avrrvai i ~ d ~ u i zap& a r r6
P. L. Vocotopoulos in AAA, X, 1977, 154-15, fig. 4-4a; and in Praktika Kwcou&u~, ABME, 5, 1939-40, 150-152.
1987, 123, pl. 92.
M 72 G. Velenis, Thirteenth-Century Architecture in Epirus, 282-283.
Idem, The Concealed Course Technique (as in note 62). 257. 73
Idem, Hermeneia, 277-278, pl. 17a, 100a. P. Thomo, Deux monuments
" A. B a ~ eLa
, villefortijiie de Berat, Monumentet, 2,1971.47-50.60, fig. de notre architecture midiivale. L a iglises crucifr,rmes b coupole de
5, pl. 111-IV. In two late-thirteenth century churches in Berat, the Holy Kosine et de Berat, Studime Historike, XXVI.4, 1972, 61, fig. 11. The
Trinity and the Virgin Vlacherna in its original phase, one notices in west gable of the nave in the Vlacherna ?ppears to have been originally
some of the brick window frames intermediate thinner bricks which are curved; see A. K. Orlandos, 'H nap& njv Aprav MoMj r&v BAq~pv&v,
recessed and were originally concealed by the mortar joints. ABME, 2, 1936, 17, fig. 11.
MI
P. L. Vocotopoulos, in AAA, VI, 1973, 409, fig. 7, and in AAA, X, 74
A. K. Orlandos, 'H Movrj Kdrrw Ilavaydg ABME, 2, 1936.76, fig. 4-
1977, 156, fig. 5. 6; idem, 'H ndpra IIavayri r i j ~O ~ u o d i a qABME,
, 1,1935, 14-16, fig.
h7
P. L. Vocotopoulos, Architecture rgrhe 7'"-10"' cent., 151. 6; K. Tsouris, Diakosmos,fig. 54-55. 85
 for instance at the Kato Panagia (fig. 3), Porta Panagia and common in the Helladic school?9 also frame windows in
Kostaniani, false pediments suggest that some gables are buildings of the Despotate, e.g. at the Kato Panagia and St
higher than they actually are.74This feature, which is not at- Basil in Arta (fig. lo)." Windows framed by semi-arches and
tested in the local tradition, is encountered in monuments of inscribed in a big arch, which is the face of a barrel vault,
various periods and regions, such as the Panagia Chalkeon, such as those in the Red Church at Voulgareli (fig. 8), are
the basilica of Kalambaka and the Vlacherna in Elis. apparently an invention of the architects of the ~ e s p o t a t e . ~ '
In the Kato Panagia (fig. 3, 9) and in the Porta Pana- One should again ascribe to Helladic influence the stone
gia in Thessaly, which imitates the former, pilasters linked arches and frames of many windows of the Kato and Porta
by an arch enhance the tympana of the transverse vault.75 Panagia (fig. 9) or St Demetrius in the plain of phanariS2
This is a feature typical of the Helladic school, where it is Windows influenced by Frankish forms are preserved
encountered mainly in cross-in-square churches and com- in the apse of the Taxiarches at Mokista in Aitolia, dating to
plex churches on squinches.76 the late thirteenth century, terminating with a characteristic

Fig. 8 Voulgarelli, Red Church. South gable of the naos

+
1
The Paregoritissa
- and probably the Pantanassa had
five domes. Domes usually have eight-sided drums." Some- 7s A. K. Orlandos,.H Movj Kdrw navaylcq, ABM+ 2,1936, 76, 1, 6;
times their form recalls the Helladic school, as in St Stephen idem,'Hl76psafkzvay1& .njqO~oodiac,ABME, 1,1935, 1 I, fig. 1.3.5.
76
at Rivion in Akarnania, with its simple contours and drum S. Mamaloukos, 0 mAhvaq q q Movrjq Ayiov Iwdrvvov TOV KvvvoB
urov qrr]trd, App6q. T I ~ ~ T~ I6K~ ~~0 ~5O Kaeqyq~fiV N. K. Moma6-
built in cloisonnC. The domes of the Vlacherna, Pantanassa . II.. Thessaloniki 1991. 13-1116.
and Paregoritissa, with brick colonnettes at the Corners, are The large central dome of the Paregoritissa has twelve facets, the domes
reminiscent of palaiologan examples in Thessaloniki, but over the aisles of the Vlacherna six. The dome of the southern chapel of
the Pantanassa has a cylindrical drum.
those of the first two monuments differ in the form of their 78 Vlacherna:A, K. Orlandos, aH njv V,fpTav Mov;l T6v BAaXEpvOv,
cornice which is level, while in Thessaloniki it is rippling.78 ABME, 2, 1936, 8-10, fig. 4, 6. Pantanassa: P. L. Vocotopoulos in
~h~ very high cupola of the monastery of ~ ~ l ~ AAA,
~ 40-42;d VI, 1973,405-406.
~ ~ ~ ~ A.~K. Orlandos.
k Paregoritissa: - Paregoriti.~sa,
L. Theis, op. cit. (note lo), 53-54. The domes of the Paregoritis-
stos finds parallels in Macedonia. The surface of the interior sa originally
- - had arched eaves lines.
of the domes is smooth, uninterrupted by ribs or gores, 7' H. Megaw, The Chronology ofsome Middle-Byzantine Churches, BSA,
XXXII. 1931-1932,126-128;G. Velenis, Hermeneia, 262-271.
which, though very frequent in the school of the capiwl, are
'" P. L. Vocotopoulos, '0v d q .njq I7avayiaq orrjv Up~PvrCazijq 'A~apva-
-1 not attested in the Despotate.
Windows are arched. When they have two or three
v i ~as, in note 13,274; G. Velenis, Hermeneia, 27 1-272.
r- G. ve~enis,~oc.cit.
I lights, these are inscribed in a brick or stone frame usually " Stone arches and frames are discussed by H. Megaw, The Chmnology
of some Middle-Byzantine Churches, as in note 79, 122-124, and by
86 extending to the (fig' 5 , 8, lo)' Lateral semi-arches, quite .h' f Bouras, BvCavnv&maupoQ&la vEup,jjoEr5, Athens 1965, 70-7 1 ,
 perposed angles or curves, zigzags, fishbones, lozenges,
step-patterns, basketwork, sunbursts, crosses, branche~,'~
while other designs consist of bricks shaped by cutting. Ma-
ny of the motifs are modelled by incising various kinds of
notches or simple lines on the edge of a brick. Most belong
to the repertory of the Helladic school, as the disepsilon,
zigzag, sawtooth, undulating line, contiguous lozenges (fig.
13), astragal, key-or S-shaped (fig. 9);86 others are rooted in
the local tradition, such as the zigzag bands,87 or are appa-
rently borrowed from Macedonia, such as basketwork cove-
ring large surfaces and concentric lozenges,'' or appear for
the first time in buildings of the Despotate, such as the bas-
ketwork bands,x9 meander or Z-shaped tiles, bricks with
simple incisions, or tiles with two lentiloid recesses forming
an inverted S, found in the Pantanassa excavation (fig.
14).~'Flowers formed by modelled bricks adorn the Vlacher-
na near ~ r t a . The
~ ' kufic letters common in southern Greece
are practically absent; only a few bricks with kufesque
patterns adorn the tympana above the window of the main
apse in the ~ l a c h e r n aand
~ ~above the central window of the
west f a p d e of the church at Mesopotamon (fig. 13)." Some

Fig. 9 Arta, Kato Panagia. South gable

of the transverse vault

trefoil arch (fig. 1 I), and in the narthex of St John at

Eupalion in the province of Doris, from the same period,
where there are convex mouldings at the angles of the stone
frames.'?
The five monumental entrances to the naos and nar-
thex of the Pantanassa are flanked by Gothic marble portals.
Their pedestals, bases (fig. 12) and parts of unfluted co-
lumns are preserved. On the bases the corner of the plinth is
occupied by a griffe.84
Many buildings of the Despotate are very picturesque
because of their variegated brick decoration (fig. 10). Some
,simple patterns are usually formed with plain bricks, e.g. su-

X3
Mokista: S. Kalopissi-Verti, Dedicatory Inscriptions and Donor Por-
traits in Thirteenth-Century Churches of Greece, Vienna 1992, 57, fig.
17. Eupalion: A. K. Orlandos, 'H Movq Bapva~opaq,Athens 1922,41,
fig. 29; V. Katsaros, Zqnjpara imopiaq ivdq /?~avsrvoijvaoij ~ o v r &
mb E6xdlo Awpii5oq, Bujavr~va,10, 1980, 13.
84
P. L. Vocotopoulos, in AAA, V, 1972, 92, 96, fig. 3, l I; VI, 1973,408,
409, fig. 2.6; X, 1976,151-153, fig. 2-3; Praktika 1994,213, pl. 85y.
'' K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 139-144, 152-153, 162-176. The superposed
angles and curves were taken from the Helladic school; see e. g. K.
Tsouris, op. cir., 175-176, or S . Mamaloukos, '0 vabq roi, 'Ayiov N~Ko-
Iboo roii N&ov KOX&md llapdp~njq B o r w r i ~'Ennqpiq rijq, 'Erst-
psraq Bolort~cjvM ~ k c j v 1, , 1988,s 15-516.
xn
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 117-130.
" Ibid., 166-167.
'"bid., 169-170, 172.
'" Ibid., 169-170.
I' Ibid., 117-138. P. L. Vocotopoulos in Praktika 1988,98, pl. 70b.
VI
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 143-144, fig. 3 1-32.
'12
A. K. Ortandos, ' H nap& njv '2prov Mom) rGv BAax~pvGv,ABME, 2,
1936, 16, fig. 10, 12; K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 138-139. On kufic deco-
ration in brickwork see e.g. B. Megaw, The Chronology of some Mid-
dle-Byzantine Churches (note 79). 104-109. 117; N. Nikonanos, Kc-
p a p o d a m r ~ i qK O U I ~ I K~ ~~ ~I ~ K O O ) I m&
~ ~ Opvqp&ia
EI~ njq mp~oXf?qr 6 v
'AOqv6v, 'AqcCpopa ori) pwjpq Xruh~avoC~ E ~ K C IThessaloniki V~~T~,
1983,330-351.
93
A. Meksi has already observed other similarities between these two
churches (Nouvelles donnies sur 1 '6glise de Mesopotam, Monumentet, Fig. 10 Arta, St Basil. Exterior of the
10, 1975, 158). They should be much closer in date than usually sug-
gested. original one-aisled church from the east 87
 Apart from the bricks decorated on their edge, there
are tiles where the pattern was modelled in champlev6 on
the face. Such tiles have been found in the Vlacherna and
the ~ a n t a n a s s aAntecedents
.~~ may be sought in the friezes
with kufic, geometric and vegetal patterns by champlev6
process of some Athenian churches97 and in champlev6 tiles
with kuflc and vegetal designs at St Charalampos in Ka-
lamata and St Nicholas at Parori, ~oeotia." Clay disks en-
countered at Pantanassa and the church at Kosina where
probably collected from ruined Roman baths.99 he^ are
also found in the church of St Vlasios in Valyra, Messenia,
the Holy Apostles at Leontari and the second phase of the
katholikon of the monastery of Myrtia in ~ito1ia.I'~On
some of the disks found at Pantanassa a cross had been
chiselled out, to be probably filled with some coloured
sub~tance.'~' At Kato Panagia some clay disks bear twelve
incised lines radiating from the centre."'
The earthenware quatrefoils decorating the Pare-
goritissa and St George at Angelokastron in Aitolia are
encountered during the Middle Byzantine and even more
Fig. 11 Mokista, Taxiarches. Detail of apse window during the Palaiologan period in a very wide area, between
Romania and Serbia on the one hand and Crete and Cyprus
on the other. According to Tsouris, this pattern was pro-
bably adopted in the Despotate from southern Greek mo-
del~'~!The same applies to the Greek fret (fig. I , 5 , 8, lo),
a motif very widespread in Byzantine architecture, which
appears at St Nicholas Rodias, a building influenced by the
Helladic school, for the first time in northwest Greece (fig.
]),Io4 and to the reticulate revetments, forming friezes or
filling blind arcades in the Paregoritissa (fig. 5), the
Pantanassa, the Red Church at Voulgareli (fig. 8) and in
some other monument^.'^' This motif appears already in the
Middle-Byzantine Monastery of Kozyli, near Nikopolis,
which also betrays the influence of the Helladic school. In
the Paregoritissa and the Red Church at Voulgareli red brick
tiles are combined with white plaques to form a chequered
pattern. The combination of two colours in the reticulate
bands was apparently first introduced in Epirus; from there
it spread to northern Macedonia - first to the Peribleptos in
Ochrid and then to other buildings, such as St John Kaneo
in the same town and St Demetrius at ~ e l e s . ' 'In
~ the church

v4
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 152-157.
" "id., 134.
Fig. 12 Pantanassa. Detail of the '' lbid., 65-69, fig. 61-63. P. L. Vocotopoulos in AAA, V, 1972, 92, fig.
south portal of the narthex 5; AAA, X, 1977, 157, fig. 8.
97
H. Megaw, The Chronology of some Middle-Byzantine Churches, BSA,
of the designs made with uncut bricks, such as the step- XXXII, 193 1-1932, 105-1 06; K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 66-68.
YX
S. Voyatzis, '0 v d q roij jlyiov Xapddyrnog Kdupkaq, DChAE, 90,
pattern, cross or sunburst, may also be formed with cut fig. 15, 17-18. S . Marnaloukos, '0v d q roij jlyiou N ~ ~ o d hr ud Niou
bricks or with both. Cut bricks were first introduced by the ~ovriror6 l7apdpr njq Bororiw, (note 85), 492493.5 17-5 18. fig. 5,20.
ateliers of southern Greece and were extensively used du- " P. L. Vocotopoulos in AAA, X, 1977, 156, and Praktika 1989, 172-
173, pl. 122a. P. Thomo, op. cit. (note 6 ), fig. 4-5, 10, 12.
ring the Middle Byzantine Period in the Helladic school, 11x1
A. Kavvadia - K. Tsouris, A60 /b[a&viq i ~ d q u i c qooj Mcuqvoia,
from which they were adopted in the Despotate. They often ' A p ~ a r o b y ~ ~A~hriov,
bv 47, 1992, fasc. A, 270, fig. 2. G . Velenis,
form bands, replacing the dentil courses, both in late Hermeneia, 275, pl. 96a. A. K. Orlandos, Bv[avrrv& pvqpeia njq
Airodoa~apvaviaq,ABME, 9, 1961, 82, fig. 9.
buildings of the Helladic school and in the Despotate (fig. 9- "" P. L. Vocotopoulos in Praktika 1987, 124, pl. 93a.
10) band monuments influenced by it." They are unknown Ill2
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 66, fig. 60.
101
in the school of Constantinople and in Asia Minor, while Ibid., 69-74. Cf. also A. Kawadia-K. Tsouris, A60 p~&vnviq ~ ~ ~ A ~ u i
they are extremely rare in Macedonia and Thessaly, where Onj Mcuqvia, 'Ap~acohoyt~bv A~hriov,47, 1992,276-277.
104
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 157- 162.
they were used mainly in buildings influenced by the "" Ibid., 57-65.
architecture of the ~ e s ~ o t a t e . ~ ' Ibid., 65.
 Fig. 13 Mesopotamon, St Nicholas. The tympcznon of the middle window of the west facade

of St Basil in Arta, usually dated in the late thirteenth century, In monuments of the Despotate and of adjacent areas,
the reticulate bands in three colours, unique in Byzantine influenced by its architecture, cut-brick bands, instead of the
architecture, where the green and white tiles are glazed, point usual dentils, often frame window^."^ Key-shaped bricks
to Italian influence (fig. 10).Io7The same church is notable for frame the windows of the central apse of the Vlacherna near
the inclusion in the decoration of its eastern fagade of two Arta and of the transverse vault of the Kato Panagia (fig.
earthenware glazed reliefs with representations of the Cruci- 9),'11 disepsilons are encountered in St Nicholas at Kanalia
fixion and of the Three Hierarchs, which are embedded in the and the Episkopi near ~ o l o s , "S-shaped~ bricks imitating a
semi-arches flanking the gable window (fig. 10). Terracotta twisted cord in the Kato Panagia and at Megalovryso near
panels with geometrical, kufic, vegetal or figural representa- Agia in ~ h e s s a l ~ , "both
' disepsilons and S-shaped bricks in
tions are attested during the Middle Byzantine period in Con- the katholikon of the monastery of St Lavrentios on Mount
stantinople, Thessaloniki and Bulgaria, and some of them eli ion,"^ a step-pattern at the Omorphokklisia near Kas-
apparently graced the exterior surfaces of churches -those in t ~ r i a , "quatrefoils
~ in the ~ a r e ~ o r i t i s s a ,interlace
"~ in the
Thessaloniki are preserved in situ in the south fapde of the Paregoritissa and the Pantokrator church at ~onastiraki,"'
Panagia Chalkeon-, but they bear little relation to those in bricks with triangular notches at Platania near ~oannina"~
Arta. According to Tsouris' thorough analysis, the Arta panels
were made in that town by an Italian artist for the church of St
Basil after its erection, probably in the first half of the fif- 110
G. Velenis, Hermeneia, 96-98; idem, Thirteenth-Century Architecture
teenth century.'08 in Epirus. 282, fig. 3, 9-12, 14; K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 153-154, fig.
The glazed bowls which grace the exterior of some 19-25.56.
Ill
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, fig. 19-22, 24-25.
churches, especially in the region of Arta -e.g. St Theodora, I12
N. Nikonanos, Bucavnvoi vaoi njq Ocuudiaq &lr6 r6 10" aihva wq
St Nicholas Rodias, the Vlacherna- but also the Panagia at $V ~ a r h m q njq
q n&proXt?qi n 6 r&q ToOp~ovqr6 1393, Athens 1979,
Palaiokatouna in Akamania, the Transfiguration at Galaxidi 162, pl. 14.75b.
and some other monuments of the periphery, were very "'lbid., p. 163-164, pl. 12a.
114
R. Leonidopoulou-Stylianou, 17aparqpfiu~1qor6 povarmjpt roi, 'Ayiov
often embedded in churches of southern Greece from the Aaupmriou Ilqliov, DChAE, 9, 1977-1979.235.237, fig. 3, pl. 94.96a-b.
eleventh century onwards. They appear rarely in Thessaly The katholikon is here dated to the late twelfth century -in which case it
must imitate south Greek models-, but it may perhaps date from the
and Macedonia and are absent in the school of Constantino- early thirteenth.
ple and in Asia ~ i n 0 r . l ' ~ I IS
Ch. Barla, Mopynj ~ a B&lr&q
i ?&v B&avrrvGv ~ o 6 o v o m m i w vAthens
,
1959, pl. 3b.
116
A. K. Orlandos, Paregoritissa, 36, fig. 19d, 24.
117
P. L. VOCO~O~OU~OS, '0 V ~ ?OUC n ~ 0 K p b ~ 0 p O
0Tq6 M o v ~ p Bov;-
k ~
""
lox
Ibid., 63-65. r q c , (note 13). 376, pl. 102a. 103a. The interlace motif is not framed
K. Tsouris, Diakoarros. 76-95, fig. 66-7 1 . by bricks.
IIR I IX
See ibid., 95-1 16. K. Tsouris, Diakosmos, 12 1 .-122, fig. 56. 89
 mes by bands of ceramic elements, adopted by Epirote
masons from the Helladic school, was probably retransrnit-
ted by them to the Olympiotissa in Elasson, which otherwise
imitates the architecture of ~ h e s s a l o n i k i , to
' ~ ~ e r o i a and
'~~
to Milutin's realm; this feature is encountered in the chur-
ches of Bogorodica LjeviSka and Sv. Spas at Prizren, St
George at Staro NagoriCino, and survives in the Holy Ar-
changels at ~uCevi5te.l" The motif used in these buildings
is the quatrefoil."'
Inscriptions on the exterior surface of the walls OT
-
some churches of the Despotate, which contribute to the ove-
rall decorative effect, are also fairly common in Macedonia.
They were usually formed with letters made of separate pieces
of brick embedded in the mortar, as was the rule in Byzantine
ar~hitecture.'~~ At Pantanassa, however, the letters were en-
Fig. 14 Paiztanassa.
graved or modelled in relief on bricks set into the wall.13' At
St Catherine in northern Corfu letters engraved on the tiles of
a reticulate band form the name of the donor.'" Inscriptions
on bricks are encountered also in the Bogorodica LjeviSka in
~rizren;'" they probably imitate models of the Despotate.
The interior of the churches was often articulated with
-
a cornice at the springing of the vaults and the base of
cupolas. Among the reliefs found during the excavations at
Pantanassa are parts of cornices decorated with romanesque
billets (fig. 1.5)."~in the interior of the Paregoritissa the lower
part of the walls was covered with slabs of marble, while
reliefs, purely Italian in style, decorate the bases of the upper
tier of columns and the arches under the central cupola.'37
The decoration of some of the capitals of the Paregoritissa
Fig. 15 Pantanassa. Fragment of cornice -
and of St Basil in Arta betrays Italian infl~ence."~
decorated with billets
The background of the architects and masons who r
and undetermined motifs in the church of Dyrrachionl Dur- worked in the Despotate is unknown, with one exception.
res converted into the Fati r n o ~ q u e . "The~ replacement of According to a later source -the Chronicle of Galaxidi,
the dentil bands framing windows, doors and arches with written in 1703 but based on older documents- the church
cut-bricks is attested in a few examples situated in Attica, of the monastery of the Transfiguration above Galaxidi was
Boeotia, Euboea and the Peloponnese from the twelfth cen- built by a famous engineer, called Nikolos Karoulis (Nic-
tury onwards: the exonarthex of the katholikon of the mo- colb Caruli), who had previously worked for the Franks.
nastery of St ~ e l e t i o s ;the
' ~ narthex
~ of the Zoodochos Pege The masonry and forms of that church are not only purely
near ~ervenosalesi;'~' the churches of St Nicholas near Pa- Byzantine but have a provincial flavour, although the pat-
~ in the cemetery of Kalamos, ~ t t i c a ; ' ~ " ron, according to the same source, was Michael I1 of Epirus.
rori, ~ o e o t i a , "and
St Demetrius at Lombarda on the Saronic ~ u l f ; ' ' the ~ Ta-
xiarches church at Kalyvia ~ a r y s t o u ' ~and' the Panagitsa of IW N. Nikonanos, op. cit. (note 112). 165, pl. 67b.
vatheia,lZ6both in Euboea; and the church on squinches of 129
G. Velenis, Hermeneia. 98, pi. 42b.
130
~ h r i s t i a n o u . 'The
~ ~ practice of circumscribing window fra- A. Deroko, Monumentalnu i c1ek)rativna arhitektura u srednjevekovnrj
Srbiji, Beograd, 3rd ed., 1985, fig. 182, 198-199,224-226,242-243,245,
251. SI. Curtit, Two Examples "f Local Building Workrhops in Four-
teenth-Century Serbia, Zograf, 7, 1977, 46, 47, fig. 4-7. Cf. also quatre-
'Iq A. Meksi, Deux bmi1ique.r inconnues, in: Monumentet, 13,1977,8I, pl. I I. foils around some arches in St. Nicholas, Prilep, ad! a zigzag motif
120 framing the arch of the south door of the Archangels at Stip.
A. K. Orlandos, 'H Monj roii 'Ouioo McIcriou K& r& napdahpra a<-
nJq,ABME, 5, 193940.96, fig. 42. 13' The framing of arches with brick ornaments, usually quatrefoils, is also
121
Ch. Bouras, Twelfth and Thirteenth Century Variations of the Single attested in Mesembria and Tirnovo; see K. Mijatev, Die mittelalrerliche
Dome Octagon Plan, DChAE, 9, 1977-1979,24, fig. 2, pl. 6. Baukunsr in Bulgarien, Sofia 1974, fig. 159-160, 172, 175-176, 178-
122
S. Mamaloukos, '0 va6q roij 'Ayiou N1~oIaovroii Niou ~ o v r & ur6 Ua- 179, 192-194,229,238. Cf. also K. Tsouris, Diakormos, 73.
132
p6pr rijq Borwriaq (as in note 8.5). 501,520,525, fig. 10.21. K. Tsouris, Diakosmos. 145-148. G. Velenis, Z'dIra ~ a napaqpijmrq
i
123
E. Ginis-Tsofopoulou. "AyroqN1~6Aaoq076 vc~poraqcioKdajtou 'Ar- ui rro~6071,y~q div01vcq &iypa&, 'Avricpwvov, 'AqxBpwpa mbv Ka-
0qyqnj N. B. Apav6hq, Thessaloniki 1994,266-269.277-280,
rrrcj~Nia urorxn'a, DChAE, 11, 1982-1983.233-234, fig. 7.
124
- -
Ch. Bouras A. Kaloyeropoulou R. Andreadi, Churches of Attica. See e. g. P. L. Vocotopoulos in AAA, V, 1972, 92, fig. 4; AAA, VI,
1973, 409, fig. 5; Praktika 1988, 98, pl. 68y; Praktika 1992, 151, fig.
Athens 1970,90-9 1, fig. 93.
6Oa.
12' On this church see N. K. Moutsopoulos, '0 T ~ r @ x t ] &v q Kduhv IY
KO& 4 v K@umov, 'Ap~Gov EfiWi~GvMEhETGv, 8, 1961, p. 204-248. E.Papatheophanous-Tsouri,'H i ~ d q a i aujq jlyicq- Ai~arcpivqqNijuov
I7cprQ~iaq onjv Kkpmpa, ' H z a l p m ~ ~Xpov1~4
h 24, 1982, 189, pl. 437.
''('A. K. Orlandos, Zraupclriur&yo~vaoi BhBcraq EGDoiaq, ABME, 7, 135
1951, p. 116-1 17, fig. 7,8. A. Deroko, op. cit., 127, fig. 183.
136
127
E. Stikas, L'hglise byzantine de Christianou en Trilphylie (Pklopo- P. L. Vocotopoulos in AAA, V, 1972, 96, fig. 12; idem in Praktika
nkse) et les autres Mifices de m&me type, Paris 1951.26, fig. 29. In the 1996, 121, pl. 85.
137
church of the Transfiguration at Nomitzi in the Mani, fragments of A. K. Orlandos, Paregoritissa, 66-103.
I38
earthenware are carelessly embedded in the mortar above the arches of Ibid, 54, fig. 48-49. A. K. Orlandos, '0 "Ay~oq BauiIcroq rijq 'Aprqq,
90 the south bilobed window. ABME, 2, 1936, 126- 127, fig. 9.
 One may conjecture that a local team worked there, and that refoils, the framing of windows and arches with bands of
Karoulis was responsible for the cross-vaulted plan of the cut-bricks or quatrefoils instead of dentils, and above all the
church. The characteristics of some monuments have led to geometric purity of the contours of the buildings, were all
conjectures about the origin of the teams responsible for imitated from the Helladic school.
them. St Nicholas Rodias and the Kato Panagia have been Constantinopolitan features include the rarely en-
ascribed to masons from southern ~ r e e c e , ' " while sculptors countered type of the four-column inscribed cross church
from Italy were probably employed at Mesopotamon, Panta- with five domes, porticos and chapels attached to the main
nassa and the ~ a r e ~ o r i t i s s a . ' ~ ~ body of churches, some polygonal apses and curved gables,
,A The architecture of the Despotate is uneven in quality, the coursed masonry of the Pantanassa and St Demetrius at
f regardless of sponsorship and location. The more impressive Molyvdoskepastos, the occasional use of the concealed
structures are mostly located in or near the capital, Arta, but course technique, the articulation of the east side of the Pa-
there are exceptions, such as the fine and expensive St regoritissa with blind arches and niches in two tiers. Most of
Nicholas at Mesopotamon. Most buildings have a provincial, these features are first attested in the last decades of the
rustic quality, including the Panagia Bryoni near Arta, which thirteenth century, when there were much closer relations
was inaugurated by the Ecumenical Patriarch in person.141 with Constantinople, but some may have reached the
Some churches, however, like the Kato Panagia, display a Despotate earlier via Macedonia or the state of the Lascarids
finish reminiscent of the four-column churches of the Argolid. in western Asia Minor.
Many churches are notable for their exuberant brick decora- The architecture of nearby Macedonia appears to
tion, which is characterized by its variety and originality ra- have had a smaller impact on the buildings of the Despotate.
ther than by its quality (fig. 10). One may ascribe to Macedonian models the domes of the
It is clear from the previous discussion that the ante- Vlacherna, Pantanassa and Paregoritissa, with brick colon-
cedents of the architecture of the Despotate of Epirus must nettes at the angles, and the very tall cupola of the Mo-
be sought in the local tradition and in the Helladic school, lyvdoskepastos. Three-sided apses with recessed blind
but that it is, at the same time, influenced by the school of arches at the lateral facets, fairly common in churches of the
the capital, Macedonia and the West. Despotate from the reign of Michael I1 onwards, appear
Local features which persist in the architecture of the earlier in Macedonia. Some brick patterns used in the Des-
Despotate include the prevalence of the barrel vault over the potate, such as the concentric lozenges and basketwork
groin and domical vault, of timber-roofed over vaulted aisle- extending on large surfaces, recall Macedonian rather than
less chapels, of plain surfaces over exteriors articulated with south Greek models.
blind arches and niches, and of straight over curved gables. Western influences in the architecture of the Despo-
The careless masonry of roughly hewn stones with brick tate are both rare and late, and must be attributed to its close
fragments in the vertical joints, alternating with single brick relations with Italy in the second half of the thirteenth
courses, is inherited from the local tradition as were, among century. The exterior appearance, interior proportions and
the brick motifs used, the zigzag bands. most architectural sculptures of the Paregoritissa testify to
The influence of the Helladic school is overwhel- the impact of Italian models. The same applies to the monu-
ming. The few churches in northwestern Greece datable to mental portals of the Pantanassa, the exterior marble re-
the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when that school flou- vetment of the Mesopotamon church, the architectural
rished, are ~ndistin~uished.'~' It is natural that patrons in the sculptures of, say, the Pantanassa, and the form of the win-
new dynamic state based in Arta turned to the neighbouring dows in such minor monuments as the Taxiarches in
regions of southern Greece, which had been occupied by the Mokista and St John at Eupalion. The glazed terracotta re-
Latins, for models and in some cases invited teams of liefs of St Basil in Arta have been attributed to an Italian
masons. It is no coincidence that St Nicholas Rodias and the artist. The Western origin of the cross-vaulted type, which
church at Rivion, both attributed to the first decades of the was popular in its three-aisled variant, has yet to be proven. J
thirteenth century, are closely related to the Helladic school. The architects of the Despotate of Epirus enriched
-(-
The two-column cross-in-square church type encountered in the formal vocabulary which they borrowed mainly from the
the school of the Despotate was borrowed from southern Helladic school: They introduced new brick patterns, che-
Greece, as were also the cloisonnC masonry, three-sided quered friezes in two colours, inscriptions incised on bricks,
apses, exterior pilasters linked by an arch, semi-arches and covered whole walls with an exuberant tile decoration.
flanking windows, stone arches and frames of doors and They replaced the rippling eaves of cupolas with straight
windows, the embedding of glazed bowls, and many brick ones. They combined windows framed by semi-arches with
patterns, such as the Greek fret, key- and S-shaped, disep- the ends of the barrel vaults which are built over them. They
silon, astragal, contiguous lozenges and kufesque. The reti- were capable of inventing new daring solutions in church
culate revetments, tiles with decoration in champlevC, quat- planning; the Paregoritissa and St Nicholas at Mesopotamon
p~
are highly original creations, which remain unique in the
architecture of the Byzantine world. The Mesopotamon
'"
1411
D. Pallas in RbK, l I , col. 28 1 . church was not solid enough to withstand repeated earth-
A. K. Orlandos, Paregoritissa, 93; K. Tsouris, Diakosnu)s, 19.
I41
P. L. Vocotopoulos, h'apa~pljoc~g i m rjg l7avayiag 7oC Mrpvci~vq,
quakes and underwent extensive repairs, which have ra-
' A p ~ a ~ o h o y i ~Ab~vh ~ i o28,
v , 1973, fasc. A, 159-168. dically altered its appearance; the Paregoritissa, on the con-
142
Idem, Architecture Nf the 7"'-ld"cent., 208-210, 253. Idem, 'Ayia trary, miraculously stands to this day, demonstrating the
ITapaUiCe 7017 d p a ~ o uDChAE, , 14,1987-1988.49-59.
143 boldness and dexterity of the architects and masons of the
The assistance of Dr. K. A. Wardle in checking my English is grateful-
ly acknowledged. Despotate of ~ ~ i r u s . ' ~ '
91
 The following abreviations are used, in addition to the customary ones:
AAA: Athens Annals of Archaeology. G. Velenis, Hermeneia: G. Velenis, 'Eppqv~ia roij i&orepr~oij
ABME: 'Apxtfiov r 3 v BvCavrrv3v Mvqp~iwvrijq 'Elldr6oq. 6ra~dupoumj BuCavrrvj d.pxrr&~rovr~rj,
Tessaloniki 1984.
DChAE: Adriov rijq Xprurravr~ijq 'Apxaroloyr~ijq'Erarpsiaq, 4In
G. Velenis, Thirteenth-Century Architecture in Epirus: G . Vele-
period. nis, Thirteenth-Century Architecture in the Despotate of Epirus:
Praktika: I 7 p a ~ r r ~rijq
& i v 'ABrjvarq 'Apxaroloyr~ilq'Erarpeiag. The Origins of the School, Studenica et I'art byzantin autour de
A. Orlandos, Pare~oritissa:A. K. Orlandos, 'H Uapqyoprjnaua I'ann' 1200* 19889 279-285.
rijq "Apwq, ~ t h e n s 1 9 6 3 . P. L. Vocotopoulos, Architecture of the 7"'-10'" cent.: P. L. Voco-
K. Tsouris, Diakosmos: K. Tsouris, '0 ~ e p a p o i r l a m r ~ 66ldrKocT-
q j o ~ ~ u l o'H
s , i ~ ~ l ? f l l a u r~l ~
P eX ~ ~ & K ~&S
O V ~ KA~rlMjv
~ LCPC~V
poq r ~ 6vu r ~ p o ~ v ~ a v pvqp~iwv
~ r v ~ v njq Bop&lo6vrr~ijq'EJ&- EIldrGa ~ a rev i "Hrcrpov d.r&roij rilouq roij 7""pixpr roij riLouq
60q, Kavala 1988. roij 10"" aiGvoq, 2"dedition, Tessaloniki 1992.

L][prcse~aapxmerc-rypa Enupcrcor AecnoTaTa: n p o 6 n e ~y ~ u ~ a j a

r p a n ~ ~ e s b cC ~B Oa ~ C T BUpKaBa
~ HaCTWUX y E ~ A P C K O MxpaMa Eoroponuue n a ~ ~ a ~ (Oununujana), ace Kao u cpymeHa,
necno-raq, p o ~ e j c ~ onpxaBu j 06pmoea~ojTOKOM XI11 CTO- cna6o UCTpaXeHa UpKBa CB.Au~UTpujaY M O ~ H B A O C K ~ ~
neha y o 6 n a c ~ u ~sanan~e
a r p s ~ enpenc~aasbajy
, j e n ~ oon ~ a j - suna~ecy yrnenabeM Ha uapurpancKa ocmapeba.
s ~ a ~ a j ~ uo6enexja
jw noseor pmno6sba B A ~ ~ H T H J Capxu- K~ Y r o p b u ~3 o ~ a ~enupcKw
a uprtasa ~ a j s e u h ucy no-
TeKType. A p o p ucvaxyje p m n m m y~uuaje~ o j ucy noBenu ny06nmac~uCBOAOBA u 3 ~ e n e ~onu oneKe. Pe6pac~ucBonoBu
no @ o p ~ u p a boco6eeux
a nena ose rpanuTesbcKe mrtone. KoHcTpyucaHu cy y ~ ~ ~ ~ M T O PHan M TnpunpaToM
I I C U , Meranu
Y apxuTeKTypw Enupa y OBOM pmno6sby ~ajsemhece na~aruje,Han s a n a n ~ mnopTunoM l l a ~ ~ a ~ ua cy e~ a j ~ e h
nonuxy uprcse ca OCHOBOM ynucaHor KpcTa, rpaljesaae ca Han- neJry ~ M ~ ~ J I ~ T OCB. ~ HTeonope
~ Y M ~y A p ~ u n . m o ~ y n o n ~pe-o
BumeHuM nonpewuM c a o n o ~ Kao , u jen~o6pon~e. Hajsehu mene 6nno je npuMebeHo y ~apuroprnucuM ,BeposaTHo, na-
6poj ~ p c ~ 0 0 6 p m ~xpaMoBaux uMa Kynony Koja nosusa H a 3u- HTaHaCU. Kynone enupCKUX X p a M O B a o 6 m ~ o Cy OCMOCTpaHe.
noama m ~ e l j yonmpcne ancune u nac~o+opuja,u napy c ~ y - n o ~ e ~ CaBnO ~ A Musrneno~noncehajy Ha oHe HacTane y TOKO-
6oaa unu c~y6auaHa sanan~ojcTpaHu (CB.Hu~onaPonujc~u BuMa apxmemype " r p q ~ em~one"(CB.C ~ e 4 ya P~U B U O Hy~
KOA A p ~ e CB., Eoplje y A H ~ ~ ~ O K y E~onuju
~ C T ~ trOnpyre). AKapHaHuju). Kynone Bnaxepxe, n a ~ m ~ a uc enapuropu~a-
Ase upme, n a ~ ~ a ~ aon c a@ununujane u napuropu~ucay Ce, C a KOnOHeTaMa O n OneKe H a YrnOBAMa CTpaHa, M O ~ M @ H K O -
A p ~ um , a j y noce6~e~pasejey ~ o j u je~ a06pa30BaH npocTop B a H Cy O @ ~ Koaroeapajytiw PeUIeba y rpanATesbCTBy CoJrYHa,
onmpa, WTO je KapamepucTmHo 3a uapurpanc~expaMose. noHerAe u M a ~ e n o ~ u(j Ae ~ P ~ H TBucoKaO Kynona MaHacTupa y
Osa H npyre n o c e 6 ~ o c ~cnoMeHyTuxu rpaljesa~ay ~ m y j yH a Monmnoc~enac~oc).
IIpeCTOHlNKU yT~uaj,BepOBaTHO ITOCpenOBaH npeK0 CnOMeHH- M3pa311~0 o6enexje enupcKux uprtasa us BpeMeHa nec-
Ka nueac~ujeJlac~apuca(Capnac, upma E). nopen upKasa noTaTa npenc~assbajy4acane noKpuseHe 6 0 r a ~ uyKpacoM ~
ynucaHor KpcTa, Ha ~enanamnoj~ e p u ~ o p uEnupcKor ju necno- us sen em^ cnarabeM onerte. MOTUBU cy npey3e~u133 penep-
TaTa Hanme ce H s e ~ u p uon yKynHo j e n a ~ a e ccasysarrux ~ ~ p o - Toapa " r p s ~ em~one",noKanHe Tpanuuuje, noHeKan u Ma~e-
6 p o n ~ u xrpat)eBFIHa Ca HaABUJUeHUM nOllpe'IHHM CBOAOBAMa A O H U ~ ~ . O ~ ~ A UCyH CUB O ~ C T B ~ HAMrpankiTesbCTBy HeluTO yna-
( n a ~ a r ~ Ij~aP A O H U KOA A p ~ e Ta~cujapce
, K O n K O C T ~ H U ~ HJ A ~ ~, H u J Uo6nac~u
X (Cp6uja, P Y M Y H U ~ ~J )~. ~ A H C T Bje~ yKpaC
H Ha
CB.,I&iMuTpujey 06nac~uQ a ~ a p uKao , A K ~ T Onaearuja y ca- @acana~a upme CB.Bacunuja y APTU( K ~ C H MXI11 B ~ Kusse- ),
M O ~APTU). I / I H T ~ H ~ H BVAMeHa
H~ OBOr PeUeba HaBOnU H a no- neH e ~ a j n u p a ~nnosuuaMa
r?~ y T P M 6oje, non yTuuaje~noju
MACaO 0 BerOBOM n0peKny y Enupy, anU je BaXHO HanOMeHy- BepOBaTHO nOnPipe 113 ki~anuje.
T M na y npyruM rpsKuM n o ~ p a j u ~ noc~oje a ~ a u pa~ujuTaKBu M ~ K Oje nOpeKn0 I'IO3HOCpenbOBeKOBHMx enMpCKUX
npuMepu (CB.Eoplje y A ~ n p y c uMece~uja). , KoHasHo, jen~o- rpanu-rema roToBo no npaBuny ~ e n o s ~ acasysaH ~ o , je BaxaH
6 p 0 n ~ eUpKBe Hajsemhe Cy nOKpABeHe npBeHAM KpOBOM, nonaTaK noju CBenow o n p u c y c ~ ~u y~ a n u j a ~ c ~ au jxc ~ o p a
CKpoMHe w y ~ a j ~ e 6pojy h e ~ cnyzlaje~acarpaije~eR ~ B ~cpe- H n p e ~ Ja~ A H O M3HaTHO n 0 3 H ~ j enACaHOM~ A3BOPY (ki3 1703.
num-ra cpenboseKoBHe enqcne npxaae. r.), HaCTmOM Ha OCHOBY BeCTH a3 ~TapvljkixnOKyMeHaTa,
M ~ o r eenApcKe UpKBe ~ T ~ B O ~ U T H HWOCy wMa.JIe noce6a~ u p ~ s ynpeo6paxencnor MaHacTupa u s ~ a n I-ma~cununonw
npocTop HapTeKca. T a ~ m o e noc~oje,HapTeKcu cy TponenHu, rao je H u ~ o n oKapynu (Niccolb Caruli), noju je npeTxonHo
ca ~ O ~ H A~ pM a ~ e j m ~i ao j cy u s a c ~ o l j e ~nonpewo
u nocTassbe- panuo 3a @ p a ~ a g ~ n ne e ~ u h e .0 nenosany u ~ a n u j a ~ c ~
H W M n o n y o 6 n w a c ~ mcaonoema, u CpenumbuM ~ o j je u no- a-resbea y Enupy nocpenHo ce sansbysyje u no ocTauuMa ap-
KpUBeH KynOnaCTHM CBOnOM. Y K a ~ ona~arujija,n0pm n a ~ a - XUTeKTOHCKe CKynnType UpKBe Y M ~ C O ~ O T~ ~~MHY ,T ~ UH
ruju, Meranu n a ~ a r u j uy l l a p a ~ u ~ uuj aU ~ K B yA M e c o n o ~ a ~ y ~ a p u r o p u ~ u c u .
npunpaTe ~ u c oy n ~ o j e ~one Haoca s u n o ~ . ApxuTemypa uprcasa Enupc~ornecnomTa HacTana je
A ~ 6 y n a ~ o p u j y6~ u0, 9 IlOPTklUM
~ ~ A Kanene He npuna- YKpLUTabeM p~nFlUTUXp ~ u a j aK O ~ ACY Ce Ha O C O ~ ~H Ha g H H
najy pemenuMa n p e y 3 e ~ uu3~ noKanHe Tpanuuuje. M ~y je, no YKnOnMJIM y TOKOBe TpanUUHOHCinHOr CaKpZiJlHOr rpanUTesbCTBa
c ~ o npmuuu,
j peg o uapurpancKuM ymuaju~a. Ha o ~ o ~j e p u ~ o p u jYu . npocTopy, K O H C T ~ ~ ~ A B H peuenu-
AM
A B TexHuKe
~ 3una~t.anpenoseajy ce Ha upKaaMa enup- Ma H ne~opauujuenupcnux xpaMoBa rrpenos~ajyce nojenu~a
cKor necnoTaTa: cloisonn6 u sunane penoBuMa KaMeHa noje c ~ o j c ~ scaepeMeHor
a rpaijeba y uapurpany, M a ~ e n o ~ u Hj uy
c ~ e n y j eno j e n a ~pen onene, ca BonopaBHo nonoxeHuM neno- M~anuju.Ycsajajyhu ux, enupcnu ~ a j c ~ o pcyu CTBopunu 3 ~ a -
BUMa OKKa IlOCTaBJbeHMM y3 BepTUKmHe C ~ O ~ H U ~U P~ .B Ha- A s a j ~ yrpanuTemcKy mrcony. H e ~ abuxosa ocTsapena, n o w
BeneHu nocTynaK je sewhe npmebusaH, noK npyru noTme napuropmuce M upme C B Hunone y MeconoTaMy, npencTa-
92 u3 paaujer noKanHor rpanmesbcrtor ~acnelja.npao6rn~uneo ssbajy j e n u ~ c ~ s enena ~ a y apxu-remypu s u 3 a ~ ~ u j c ~ cseTa.
or