Custodians of the Empress Theophano Memory

The Macedonian dynasty brought a new flourishing of the Byzantine Empire which was considered in at the time as the height of civilization. In order to (try to) seal a political alliance between the Byzantine empire, which and the German empire, the marriage between Otto II and Theophano was arranged and consecrated by the Pope in Rome in 972.

She had a lasting influence on the development of early medieval culture in Western Europe. Largely thanks to her, the Ottonian dynasty brought a cultural revival. Then, she was forgotten, except for the occasional visitor to her grave in the St Pantaleon church in Cologne, at that time one of the greatest cities of Europe.

But in many places in Europe, people have preserved her memory and conserved beautiful artifacts from her or associated with her life.
The Theophano Foundation likes to bring homage to those protectors of the memory of this fascinating woman and the times in which she lived.