ONUFRI MUSEUM AND OLD CATHEDRAL

The complex of the former Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Katedralja Fjetja e Shën Mërisë) houses the National Museum of Onufri Icons (Muzeu Kombëtar Ikonografik Onufri). This is one of the country's three finest sites for discovering Albanian Orthodox art, along with the Icon Hall of the National Historical Museum of History (Tirana) and the National Museum of Medieval Art (Korça). The great attraction here is that the works are presented almost in situ: most come from the churches of the Berat citadel. The complex originally housed a simple ^13th-century Byzantine church. It was extensively remodeled in 1797, when the church was elevated to cathedral status. It was desacralized during the Communist period, then transformed into a museum in the final years of the dictatorship (1986). The institution boasts a collection of 1,500 pieces, around 200 of which are on permanent or rotating display. Two-thirds of these are works by painters from the Berat school, a movement founded in the ^16th century by Albania's greatest religious painter, Onufri. This great artist was a ^16th-century icon painter and Orthodox archpriest from Elbasan. His works are characterized by post-Byzantine and Venetian influences. Nicknamed the "Michelangelo of the Balkans", this key figure in Albanian art gave rise to the Berat school, a dynasty of icon and fresco painters that lasted until the ^18th century. Breaking with the conventions of the time, he was the first to introduce the color pink into icon painting, as well as greater realism in facial expressions.

Old Cathedral. Coming from the sun-drenched entrance courtyard, one is struck by the half-light of the nave, where the gold of the iconostasis stands out. This finely carved wooden wall (plant elements, dragons, etc.), gilded with gold leaf, is one of the masterpieces of ^19th-century Albanian craftsmen. It was created in 1806 by two master sculptors known only by their first names, Andoni and Stefani. Icons. The iconostasis houses 48 icons in two registers, created by the Çetiri workshop in Berat in the ^18th century. As the site has been desacralized, it is possible to enter the béma, the sacred space behind the iconostasis usually reserved for the communion clergy. Here, the frescoes of the apse are almost completely erased. At the foot of the frescoes, in the floor, the Purple Codexes of Berat were discovered in 1967.

Exhibition rooms. Right next to the cathedral, in the former building of the metropolis (Orthodox bishopric) of Berat, this is where the museum's most precious icons are displayed, in particular some signed by Onufri (^16th century). Note also the chalices and bibles covered in gold and silver, testifying to the skills of the region's craftsmen. As in the cathedral, the works of Gjon Çetiri (sometimes signed with his brothers Gjergj, Nikolla and Naum) can also be found, including a beautiful Saint Demetrios of Thessalonica, a tutelary figure for the Orthodox of the southern Balkans. David Selenica, the most eminent representative of the other Albanian pictorial movement, the Korça school (^18th-19th centuries), is represented by only a few icons, such as this portrait of St. Constantine and St. Helen from the church of St. Nicholas in Moscopole. The great Onufri takes the lion's share, as four or five of his works are usually presented here. You may see a Saint John the Baptist, an icon of the healing saints Como and Damiano, or the fabulous Odigitria (Virgin Conductor). Covered in a thin layer of metal, the latter glows and eclipses almost all the other icons in the museum. The famous "Onufri red" is a minor disappointment: it is at its best in the icons presented at Korça. But another red shines through here: that of Konstantin Shpataraku (^18th century). Of all Albanian masters, he was the most successful in synthesizing Italian Renaissance and Byzantine tradition. Two of his masterpieces are usually on display: a Saint Demetrios (from the Church of the Prophet-Elia in Berat's Përrua district) and a magnificent Archangel Michael (from the nearby cathedral). Depending on the year, two to three sections of frescoes painted by Onufri and his disciples in local churches are on display here. Most are in poor condition. But, to the left of the entrance, note the Dormition of the Virgin Theotokos by Nikolla Onufri, the master's son. Finally, several anonymous icons in the collection bear witness to the influence of Ottoman culture on Albanian religious art. Notably this representation of the Last Supper (early ^19th century): Jesus and the Apostles are seated around a low, round table, rather than a rectangular one. This is a sofra, a piece of Turkish furniture par excellence. Note also that the guests use forks, as at the Sultan's court. Another oddity is the icon of Pentecost (^19th century), from the Church of St. Nicholas in the neighboring Perondi district: Christ holds the Greek Bible in his hands, while Oriental-dressed figures hold up another Bible in Arabic script.