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are a large number of well-preserved monuments extant in the city of Kastoria from the 10th and later centuries.
Churches, painted ensembles and icons all vouch for Kastoria's uninterrupted output of art works from the Early
Byzantine period to the very last years of Ottoman rule.
Thus Kastoria is a place where we can enter into the spirit of Byzantine art, and study it through its
different periods and styles.
At the same time, this wealth of public monuments supplies us with important information to fill out our
picture of the city from the start of the 10th century to its capture by the Ottoman Turks at the end of the
14th century.
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Their value as art and their aesthetic aspirations are indicative of the high standard of culture that made
their creation possible.
Their influence from and on monuments elsewhere reveals how Kastoria related to other art-producing centres
and how it communicated with them.
Founder inscriptions and donor portraits reflect the city's social life, as
well as its historical vicissitudes.
Lastly, the way in which they are sited within the city enables us to put forward suggestions about the way
urban space was organized at Byzantine Kastoria.
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