TIRANA, April 15 /ATA/ – Tirana, the capital of Albania, is a city abundantly rich and diverse in arts and culture thanks to mixed cultural influences. The city is home to an array of museums and art galleries to explore and we’d like to share five of the sights that you shouldn’t miss on your visit to Albania’s capital city.
This is how the renowned Italian journalist and blogger Francesca Masotti writes in her latest article on Albania published on her blog “Francesca on the top World”.
“I would like to share with you the five museums sorted in a random order that you should not miss while visiting the Albanian capital. If your time permits I would like to recommend you to visit all the museums mentioned in this article: different and interesting, showcasing ancient artifacts or contemporary finds, rooms dedicated to art showing various aspects of the country’s history ,” Masotti writes.
BUNKART
Located at the gates of Tirana (along the road leading from the city center to the magnificent Dajti mountain), the BunkArt is perhaps Albania’s most interesting museum and one of the rarest sites in the entire Balkan peninsula. Yes, because this contemporary art museum is housed inside a mammoth anti-atomic bunker, where, in the event of a nuclear attack, the dictator Enver Hoxha should have been hiding. Any of you who know a little about Albania’s history understand quite well what I’m talking about.
On the other hand, those who have never been interested in the events of the country must know that Hoxha had thousands of bunkers built all over the country (estimates range from 170,000 to 700,000 concrete bunkers, yet the precise number is not yet known.) BunkArt is features different underground levels, home to an infinite number of rooms, telling the history of Albania from the Italian occupation to the final years of Communist regime. Astonishing and beautiful.
BUNKART2
Whoever lacking the opportunity to move out of Tirana, but wishing to discover something more about the former communist Albania can visit the BunkArt2, another museum built inside a Hoxha-era underground bunker, however, unlike the first, located in the center of Tirana, near the Municipality office. The bunker was designed to accommodate members of the Albanian Ministry of the Interior in the event of a nuclear attack. Its rooms showcase stories related to the communist-era Albania, whereas special attention is placed on the regime’s victims.
NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM
The National Historical Museum is the largest and most important museum in the country, showing Albania’s history from the Palaeolithic up to Communism regime. Worth noting is the collection of works by Onufri, the most important 16th century Albanian painter. A curiosity: in this museum is also to be found the weapon with which Benito Mussolini was gunned down. One thing that really struck me about this museum is the works by Richard Caton Woodville, a 19th century American artist, who offer interesting insight into the 19th century Albania.
The National Historical Museum is located in the central Skanderbeg Square, dedicated to the great Albanian national hero who defended the country and the West from the advance of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, and it is easily recognizable thanks to the spectacular mosaic placed on its façade, representing the country’s various most important historical stages.
NATIONAL ART GALLERY
Not far from the National History Museum is the National Gallery of Art. In its rooms you can admire works by the most famous artists belonging to the first Albanian school of painting, born at the beginning of the twentieth century, including Kolë Idromeno, Spiro Xega, Andrea Kushi and Simon Rrota, as well as a series of works by artists of the communist period, which describe the everyday life during the harsh years of dictatorship, with slogans and attires typical to that era.
A little gem: on the back of the National Gallery you will find the giant statues of Lenin and Stalin, once located in the city’s main squares. We do not know anything about their destiny for the moment as they are hidden but can’t escape the most alert and curious eye. In front of the Gallery is exhibited the work Reja (The Cloud) by the Japanese artist Sou Fujimoto, used as a public space for events and forums.
THE HOUSE OF LEAVES
The latest site opened in the city is the House of Leaves, a beautiful and interesting museum housed in what, during the years of the dictatorship, was the headquarters of the Sigurimi, the former Albania’s dreaded secret police. The apparently anonymous building was the fulcrum of Sigurimi’s activities, the place where the regime’s spies met, where secret conversations were eavesdropped and fundamental decisions were made.
Originally built in 1931, the House served initially as a medical clinic. During the German occupation in the Second World War, however, the Gestapo took over the facility. When the war was over, the Albanian government transformed it into the country’s main prosecution office. Although the ticket costs higher, I found this museum very fascinating and I highly recommend visiting it.
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