MONASTÈRE DE LA DORMITION-DE-LA-MÈRE-DE-DIEU
Superb Byzantine church in the archaeological site of Apollonia d'Illyria. Remnants of the ancient city.
This ancient Byzantine Orthodox monastery, dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (Manastiri i Shën Mërisë), is located on the site of Apollonia in Illyria and houses the Archaeological Museum. Closed to worship since the 1950s, it was founded in the 12th century on the site of an earlier church, itself built on Greco-Roman remains. Altered until the 20th century (addition of the bell tower), it comprises a defensive courtyard some 50 m long, housing the superb church dedicated to the dormition of the Theotokos (the Catholic equivalent of the Assumption of the Virgin). It was built between 1250 and 1270 using materials from monuments in the ancient city. It is distinguished by its almost Latin cross shape, unusual in Byzantine art. Surmounted by a dome mounted on a cylindrical drum, its walls alternate between brickwork and large stone blocks cut from the theater's bays. The interior houses a remarkable stone iconostasis. But of the frescoes that once covered all the walls, only one remains, on the left side of the west wing. It depicts eight figures in royal ceremonial dress. Above, an inscription indicates that the church was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Andronic II Palaeologus (reign 1282-1328), who forced Charles I of Anjou into Albania. Opposite the church entrance, the former monks' refectory dates from the early 14th century. It boasts some of the most complete medieval frescoes preserved in Albania.
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