1792 Bortoli View of the Vatopedi Monastery, Greece

Here is a very rare and intricate engraving of the Eastern Orthodox Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece, printed in 1792 in Venice by Antionio Bortoli. Colloquially known as the 'Holy Mountain,' Mount Athos and Vatopedi specifically have been important religious sites for centuries and Vatopedi remains a home for ascetic monks, ancient religious relics, ornate architecture, intricate frescoes, and an important library.

A Closer Look

This view is oriented towards the south, looking at the monastery complex from the sea. Unsurprisingly, it is replete with religious imagery and references, including a distinctive depiction of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos) with a scar on her right cheek (Panagia Portaitissa) at top-left, though some of the towers and ships are adorned with cannons, while in the background information is provided on the landscape of the mountain.

The main cathedral (katholikon) sits at left-center, while a large procession of monks in the course of a pilgrimage are depicted at right. An extensive religious text takes up the bottom portion of the sheet, unfortunately becoming illegible towards bottom-right.

Though it was home to a religious site since the early centuries of Christianity, the current temple complex of some 35,000 square meters was begun in the 10th century and elaborated repeatedly in the following centuries. Large-scale restoration and renovation projects were launched in the 1990s, intended to help preserve the monastery and its artifacts. The monastery's library is especially culturally significant; in addition to religious texts, it also contains a 14th century Ptolemaic map of the British Isles, one of the oldest in existence.

Publication History and Census

This engraving was printed in Venice in 1792 by Antionio Bortoli, a specialist in Greek-language publications (an elaborate cartouche with his initials sits at bottom-center). The only other known example of this view is held by the Dori Papastratos Collection at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Greece.