The Byzantine Museum of Ioannina is housed in one of the buildings of citadel (

Its Kale The Ioannina Castle ( el, Κάστρο Ιωαννίνων) is the fortified old town of the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece. The present fortification dates largely to the reconstruction under Ali Pasha in the late Ottoman period, but ...

) of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

, the capital of the Epirus region in northwestern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. The central section was built in the 1960s and originally functioned as a Royal Pavilion.

History

The museum was opened to the public in 1995. The collection of the silver items is housed in a separate 19th-century building on the citadel, and plans are ongoing to spread the exhibition among several other buildings in the citadel. The museum contains collections of

Early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

sculptures, excavation finds from

Arta Arta, ARTA, or Artà may refer to: Places Djibouti * Arta, Djibouti, a regional capital city in southeastern Djibouti * Arta Mountains, a mountain range in Djibouti * Arta Region, Djibouti Greece * Arta, Greece, a regional capital city in northwes ...

, pottery, manuscripts and early editions of printed books, post-Byzantine icons and silver items.Directory of Museums
Hudson, K & A, Nicholls. 1985. p458

Main Exhibits

* Marble fragment of an

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

(altar screen), from Glyke. It is decorated with relief representations of birds on the front side and floral patterns and interlaced circles on the lower surface. Dated to the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century. * Glazed clay icons from the east pediment of the church of St. Basil in Arta. A pair of icons with the representations of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

and the

Three Hierarchs The Three Hierarchs ( grc, Οἱ Τρεῖς Ἱεράρχαι; ell, Οι Τρεις Ιεράρχες) of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea), Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of Nazianz ...

date to the 14th century. * Left chancel door from the church of Saint Nicholas at

Perama Perama ( el, Πέραμα) is a suburb of Piraeus. It is part of Athens urban area and belogs to the Piraeus regional unit. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km northwest of Piraeus, ...

. Representations of an angel, the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

, and

Apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

are carved in wood. Dated to the 15th century. * Printed book, the first edition of the comments of Simplicius on

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

. It was printed in 1499, by Zacharias Callierghis in Venice in the printing establishment of N. Vlastos. * Manuscript Gospel from the Molyvdoskepastos Monastery. The silver-cut decoration represents the Crucifixion on the one side and

Dormition The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

on the other. Dated to 1575. * Icon painted by the Cretan artist

Theodoros Poulakis Theodore Poulakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Πουλάκης; 1622–1692) was a Greek Renaissance painter and teacher. He is considered the father of the Heptanese School and one of the most prolific painters of Venetian Crete. Poulakis was a me ...

. In the middle, Saint John the Baptist is depicted in full length, and scenes from his life are painted in the frame. Dated to the second half of the 17th century. * Icon depicting St. Catherine's engagement. In the lower part, the donors are depicted in the gesture of deesis (prayer) while in the frame a Greek inscription is discernible, mentioning the date 1688. This icon is undoubtedly the product of a Western workshop. * Silver benedictory cross with wooden carved nucleus. It is covered with silver and has attached wire palmettes. At the base, it is surrounded by two symmetrical spiral antennae covered with ivory. It bears the inscription: possession OF DEMETRIOS, THE PRIEST 1800. * Wall painting from a rich house (archontikon) in Ioannina representing the battle of

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

at the

Milvian Bridge The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge ( it, Ponte Milvio or ; la, Pons Milvius or ) is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the f ...

. It was painted by Alexandros Demiris, in the 19th century.

References

Museums in Ioannina {{Greece-museum-stub