Only known living portrait of last Byzantine emperor discovered

Conservation work inside a monastery near the town of Aigio in the Peloponnese has revealed a mural of Constantine XI Palaiologos (1405-1453) that an expert says is the only known living portrait of the last Byzantine emperor.

The find was made in the catholicon of the Old Monastery of Taxiarches in Aigialeia, some 15 kilometers south of Aigio, where there are two layers of mural paintings of high artistic quality from the late Byzantine period, a statement from the Culture Ministry said.

Constantine reigned from 1449 until his death in battle at the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.

Archaeologist Anastasia Koumousi, director of the Achaia Ephorate of Antiquities, identified the image on the inside mural as that of the last Byzantine emperor and dated it to the mid-15th century.

"In this case, the portrait is linked to the last Byzantine...