Event: WEDS TALK: Approaching Mountain Landscapes: The Case of the Pindos Mountains

ABSTRACT: An imperial document (chrysobull), issued in 1289 by Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, confirms the privileges granted to a monastic foundation known as the Merciful Virgin in Phanari, Karditsa. The monastery was established by the sebastokratorissa Hypomone, a nun of Vlach origin who came from the transhumant nomadic group that moved between the Pindos Mountains and the Thessalian plateau. While only fragments of her monastic foundation survive today, this imperial document, read together with material evidence, offers insights into the overlapping landscapes between lowlands and uplands in the thirteenth century.

BIO: Sofia is a PhD candidate in the Department of Art History at UCLA. Her dissertation, “The Pindos Mountains: Land, Art, Community (13th-15th centuries),” explores how mountainous communities interacted with land by analyzing settlement and mobility patterns and artistic and social interactions across mountains and surrounding plains. She has received fellowships from the CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Center for Hellenic Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, and the Mellon Foundation. She is the co-editor of the catalogue Weaving Dreams: Kilims from Geraki, Laconia, and has published articles on medieval soundscapes and communities.