The ruins of the Monastery of the 40 Saints, from which the city of Saranda was named, are on its east, in the most dominant part of the sixth hill and is considered as one of the most unique monuments of architecture. The Italian archaeologist Luigi Maria Ugolini, who studied it in the mid-1920s, states that the church was probably one of the best, if not the most beautiful ones he had seen in Albania. The Basilica was built in late antiquity as a pilgrimage center devoted to the cult of the 40 Saints. Christian believers from different Balkan countries and the Adriatic coast. It served as a monastery and there were also other auxiliary ambulances for the reception of peregrines, which began to be abandoned over time, but the church continued to be used until the middle of the century, XIX from a small monastic community. After that time it was abandoned and gradually began to collapse, but its walls were standing until the 1940s when they were knocked down by the bombing of World War II. The Church is a Heptakonk of the century. V-VI anno Domini (with seven planks) of great size, length about 43 meters and width 23 meters, which ends on the eastern side with a semicircular absid. In the plan it consists of naos and narthex. The narthex is slightly longer than the width of the church, and on the northern and southern sides it concludes with the conch. Naosi has on the north and south sides, three nike-apsidas, apparently covered with a quarter sphere. On the sides of the naos, there should have been pillars, which must have been connected to the arches and the roof structure might have leaned on them. Under the narthex is a crypt consisting of a series of turnstiles on the walls of which are wall paintings. The walled inscriptions are also very interesting on the facade of the church walls. Archaeological excavations which have been carried out during these last years have revealed new data for the baptister, which is a compound made up of different environments, with 9 individual bathtubs or baptismal bathtubs and two pools. 

Type of Data Point - Publicly Available Information

Forty Saints Monastery - Public Info

Visit page of the element - Forty Saints Monastery

Inserted: 11-04-2023 19:04:22