ABSTRACT
The Byzantine and post-Byzantine art of Thessaloniki provides striking vistas from which to survey the development of this charming and strategic city. This chapter assesses snapshots of the city’s unique political and spiritual history through insightful analyses of depictions of Thessaloniki. From the Rotunda’s mosaics that convey imperial authority to the seventh-century mosaics of the Basilica of St Demetrios that portray the saint’s spiritual authority, depictions of the city vary widely and reflect the city’s development. A telling account of the city by John Kaminiates, who lived through the capture of Thessaloniki by the Arabs in the summer of 904, relates a lengthy description/encomium of Thessaloniki that suits a visual description. Finally, it employs sixteenth- and seventeenth-century icons to explore the contrasting relationship between increasing urban development and the abandoned countryside in the post-Byzantine landscape. Relevant to all these depictions of Thessaloniki are concerns for city planning and the relationship between visual and literary descriptions of cities, whether on icons or in narrative form.
