Stobi Celebrates Theodosian Palace Conservation with Ministerial Visit and International Partners
On April 17, 2026, the conservation of the Thedosian Palace in Stobi, R. North Macedonia, was celebrated with a visit from the Macedonian Minister of Culture, Mr. Zoran Lyutkov, along with the head of the American Institute for Roman Culture (AIRC), Dr. Darius Aria and the Program director of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, Dr. Will Raynolds. The director of the National Institute Stobi, Dr. Silvana Blazhevska, gave a press conference covered by all major Macedonian media.
During their visit, the AIRC representatives —Dr. Aria and Dr. Jeanne Marie Teutonico—toured Stobi and the future interpretation center in the renovated building of the old train station, as well as the rich artifact collection in the storage facilities on-site. They discussed plans for future projects in Stobi, such as developing a training center for archaeological conservation and completing the conservation of the insula housing the Theodosian Palace. Other topics included the development of tourism infrastructure, which would benefit the site’s presentation. While in Stobi, Dr. Aria recorded extensive video material to be shared on the social media channels of Ancient Rome Live, an online learning hub dedicated to the ancient Roman world, thus significantly raising the site’s international visibility.
Funded by the J.M. Kaplan Fund and the AIRC (2022–2026), the conservation of the Theodosian Palace – a luxurious Roman residence, dated 4th–6th c. CE – has been a significant success, establishing durable conservation practices for this internationally important archaeological site. The project encompasses conservation and re-conservation of stone walls, floor mosaics and marble elements. A principal focus has been capacity building—training local teams in architectural conservation to secure sustainable site management. The professional conservation firm Skillington Workshop (UK) leads both the conservation efforts and trainings, in which participated both local conservators, architects and heritage experts from Bulgaria and international students and volunteers.
