An Ortho­dox spir­i­tu­al cen­tre since 1054, Mount Athos has enjoyed an autonomous statute since Byzan­tine times. The ‘Holy Moun­tain’, which is for­bid­den to women and chil­dren, is also a rec­og­nized artis­tic site. The lay­out of the monas­ter­ies (about 20 of which are present­ly inhab­it­ed by some 1,400 monks) had an influ­ence as far afield as Rus­sia, and its school of paint­ing influ­enced the his­to­ry of Ortho­dox art.