Its construction is credited to the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, who began building in 1282 after a victory over the Angevins at Berat, on a site where a chapel of the Holy Trinity already stood. The monastery is also closely linked with Albania’s national hero: on 21 April 1451 Skanderbeg married Andronika (Donika) Arianiti here. The monastery’s library, which once held some 32,000 volumes, was destroyed by fire in 1932.
The heart of the complex is the Church of St. Mary, painted in 1744 by the Zografi brothers, Kostandin and Athanas, whose frescoes include a dramatic Last Judgement in the narthex. Its gilded wooden iconostasis, also from 1744, carries icons attributed to Kostandin Shpataraku. A custodian is usually on hand to open the church, though photography inside may not be permitted.
Ardenica pairs naturally with a visit to the ancient city of Apollonia nearby, making for a rewarding day of history around Fier.
