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The Byzantine Monastery of Panaghia Peribleptos : Contribution to the Monumental Topography of the Byzantine Town of Arta

Articles

• Παπαδοπούλου, Βαρβάρα Ν.
• ΠΑΠΑΔΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ, Βαρβάρα Ν.

The Byzantine monastery of Panaghia Peribleptos at Arta is mentioned in thirteenth century sources, but its exact position has not been located so far. Its existence is mainly known by two letters of Naupactos Archbishop, Ioannis Apokaukos, the first of which was written in 1222 at the same monastery and it is addressed to Theodoros Komnenos Doukas, the ruler of the Despatate of Epirus. The second letter, which is dated to 1223, is addressed to the archbishop of Arta, Ioannis, and it refers to an event that took place while Apokaukos was staying as a guest at the monastery. However, the Apokaukos' reference to the location of the monastery is barely informing. Another information is given by the Bishop Serapheim Xenopoulos, who in his book for Arta and Preveza mentions the parish of'Peribleptos', the church of which is dedicated to the feast of Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple. Nowadays there is only one church in Arta with that dedication. It is the old cathedral, built on the homonymous hill opposite to Castle and it is also dedicated to St Merkourios. It is worth mentioning that many Byzantine architectural sculptures (pseudosarcophagos, slabs, column capital, colonnettes, etc) are walled in the structures ofthat post-Byzantine church. A number of Byzantine sculptures (parts of architraves, colonnettes, etc) were located at the basements of the Cathedral mansion of Arta (near the church of Presentation of the Virgin - St. Merkourios), while a marble icon of the Crucifixion had also been found at the area of the same church in the beginning of the twentith century. We strongly believe that the existence of so many Byzantine sculptures in the same place is not at all accidental. On the contrary, the sculptures, combined with other elements like a lead seal (molyvdovoullon) found in the same monument, lead us to support the opinion that the location of the monastery of Peribleptos should be searched on the hill of the cathedral and specifically at the place where the post-Byzantine church of Presentation of the Virgin - St Merkourios is built. The position of the hill justifies completely the eponymy of the monastery of Peribleptos because it is a natural height near the river Arachthos, surrounded in its three sides by the Walls of Ambrakia (ancient town built in the position of the modern Arta), which is preserved at an impressive height and length. In our article all evidence leading to placing the Byzantine monastery of Peribleptos on the hill of the Cathedral, is being thoroughly examined, as well as the sculpture that has been found there. From the examination of the sculpture, we conclude the following: A. Many of them are dated to the Middle Byzantine period (llth-12th c.) and they must come from a dimensional church. B. Others, dated to the early thirteenth century, constitute works of a good workshop, the same according to our opinion that created the exceptional templon of Vlacherna, the famous monastery near Arta.

• History and Archaeology
• Arts

• Ιστορία

• http://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/deltion/article/view/4244
• http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/dchae.447