When Michael VIII Palaeologos entered Constantinople on 15^th August 1261, the city was in ruinous condition, a result of destructions brought upon during the Fourth Crusade and the Latin occupation (1204-1261). Historians and orators alike praised the emperor for setting out to restore the appearance and prestige of the capital. Indeed, his broad restoration activity initiated a period of remarkable architectural production and represented a starting point of the Palaeologan artistic revival. At the same time, practically nothing survives that can be surely attributed to Michael VIII Palaeologos’ direct patronage in the city. How can we then evaluate the creative input of that production or determine its precise components? In what sequence were the buildings reconstructed and who were the artists responsible for this program? By questioning the evidence that written sources and the surviving monuments in the city provide, this lecture aims to shed a new light on the restoration of Constantinople after 1261.