Gli edifici ecclesiastici di Phoinike e del suo territorio tra tarda Antichità e Medioevo

Abstract

Last season of excavation in Phoinike (Albania) helped to better define the chronology and plan of the late antique basilica inserted in a wider Bishop complex. In the meantime a new ecclesiastical building was found on the top of the hill close to the 'Laurus Nobilis'. This church was built during the 7th c. and abandoned in the late 15th century, when the city of Phonike was already controlled by the Sultan of Epirus. It is a church square with a central apse and three small aisles, preceded by a rectangular vestibule. In the second phase, the building was restricted to two aisles. Around the ecclesiastical complex was settled a large cemetery. Some architectural elements, found in the collapsing layers, show an interior decoration made up of limestone capitals and pulvini sculpted by local craftsman. The church sets and reuses the structures of an imposing Stoà, located in one of the most prestigious areas of the city. In this paper we will try to frame the phenomenon of transformation of Albanian cities in an attempt to verify the data collected at Phoinike in a wider regional context, both in terms of new religious structures and other aspects of medieval topography.