The Director of the Onufri Museum in Berat Mr Miklor Pasku welcomed the Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on a visit to the city’s most important art collection in the heart of the medieval castle.

The museum houses 200 works of art, icons and liturgical objects dating from the 14th to the 20th century, from various churches and monasteries in the region.

Director Pasku gave a detailed explanation of the iconostasis of the Cathedral of the ‘Dormition of St. Mary’, which was created in 1807, and is considered a masterpiece of Albanian wooden sculpture. The decorations of the iconostasis display some characteristics of the Baroque style and its principles, a typical and predominant trend found in 18th and 19th century Balkan churches.

The Museum director showed Ambassador Palumbo the Berat Purpure Codex and the Golden Codex of Anthimos, which were discovered under the floor of the apse on 12 August 1968, inside a small metal box hidden in the crypt. They are also known as the ‘Codex Purpureus Beratinus’ from the 6th century AD, and the ‘Codex Aureus Anthimi’ from the 9th century AD, or as the Codices of Berat. They are monuments of culture and civilisation, and genuine encyclopaedias of Christian thought. The two Berat Codices are listed in the list of the most important works of humanity, known as the ‘Memoire du Monde’ under the protection of UNESCO.

The visit was an extraordinary immersion in the art and Christian culture of Albania that particularly impressed Ambassador Palumbo and his companions, the Consul General of Italy in Vlora, Ms. Iva Palmieri accompanied by the Vice Consul Mr. Antonio Rapisardi and the Consular Correspondent of Italy in Berat Mr. Vladimir Cela.