Church of Saint Mitre

The Church of Saint Mitr is located in the “Kala” neighborhood of the city of Berat and represents one of the most characteristic shrines of the city’s Orthodox heritage. Built with limestone bound with clay mortar, a traditional technique that guaranteed durability and adaptation to the broken relief of the castle, the church preserves the original architectural features of the 16th – 18th centuries.

A historical inscription is placed above the southern gate of the nave, which proves that the interior frescoes were painted in 1607, making this object one of the places with documented value of the Albanian ecclesiastical pictorial heritage. The style of the frescoes, with biblical iconography

restrained and dark warm colors, it is representative of the post-Byzantine iconography of that period.

The porch (external portico), a later addition, which surrounds the church on three sides, represents an architectural expansion that gives the environment a new functional and ceremonial dimension. In the southern part of the porch, another inscription testifies to the reconstruction or reinforcement of this part in 1774, a date that coincides with an important period of revival of ecclesiastical life in Berat.

Due to its historical, architectural and iconographic values, the Church of Saint Mitre has been declared a cultural monument, and remains today an important reference point for studies on Albanian Christian art, as well as a revered place of pilgrimage and visit for locals and tourists.