The Berat Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage shared pictures from the Church of St. Mary Vllaherna mural paintings, painted by Onufri in 1578.

The paintings feature portraits of prophets and gospel scenes. The church has been declared a Cultural Monument of the first category and is located in the Castle neighborhood in Berat.

The Church of Saint Mary Vllaherna dates back to the XIII-XIV centuries and is one of the oldest churches in the city of Berat. The church courtyard speaks of an earlier monastery of centuries V and VI.

It is of the inscribed cross type and built with the technique ‘stone surrounded by bricks’, a feature of Byzantine churches of the c. XIII-XIV.

The reconstruction of the church belongs to the century XVI. Under the floor of the church is a water cistern which is thought to have been built earlier. The floor is decorated with mosaics.

It is thought that the origin of the name comes from the Palace of Vllaherna in Constantinople.

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