THE BALKANS

In the autumn of 2012, we headed south again, but a little further east this time – on a journey across Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. These countries, in the past, embodied the Byzantine Empire. Even after its disintegration, interesting artistic development continued there. Our whole semester was dedicated to Byzantine art in the Balkans, which we decided to thoroughly absorb in situ with a five-day road trip. After one night getting to Serbia, we picked up the expedition leader, Ivan Foletti, in Belgrade and headed south. Our first stop was the monastery in the town of Žića, the location of one of the churches built by the Nemjanič dynasty, which ruled in this area between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. Artistic monuments created during this period accompanied us throughout our journey.

Another planned stop was the monastery in Studenice. This monastery complex is an important spot for the formation of the entire area's artistic as well as political culture. The monastery holds the remains of St. Simeon, the founder of the Nemjanič dynasty. We decided to spend that night in Studenice because it got dark very quickly. The main reason for this unscheduled stay was the fact that we hadn’t had enough time to observe the beautiful frescoes there. We stayed for the evening Mass. Afterwards, we received a dinner invitation from the monk Dragan, who we spent a pleasant night with – dining and talking. The dinner started with a shoot of homemade plum brandy and the monastery’s red wine.

The next day, we finally had time to look at the church from the inside and outside. On our way to the next stop, we were bathed by the autumn sun and soon arrived in Sopoćani. When we arrived, we could not take our eyes off the beautiful frescoes of the entire church. The next day, we saw Gračanica and the complex in Pec. In the evening, we managed to reach the town of Prizren in southern Kosovo, where we started the next morning with a tour of the local church. We then continued to our last stop, this time in Macedonia – the church in Nerez. On the way back, we spent our last night in Studenice – because we were again invited by the monk Dragan. He told us that this was a sign of our friendship. On this study trip, we saw remarkable artistic monuments of Balkan art shaped by Byzantium and other inspirations, including Western influences.