At the same time, there were disinfected about 470 icons and other museum objects. Also, 730 museum objects were photographed with high quality while 3 objects were photographed with the RTI system.

The exhibition “A Journey on Divine Art” was another important activity during last year. 39 icons and other museum objects were put on display at this exhibition.

In the framework of the 45th anniversary of its opening, the Museum organized the activity in cooperation with Korça Regional Council, where among the many guests was the architect and initiator of the museum Pirro Thomo. There has also been published a summary of all the museum activity, from the formal establishment of the museum’s opening to the present-day. There has also been produced the documentary “45 years of the Museum of Medieval Art”.

Some other important exhibitions were: “Origin and Craftsmanship” on silver and metalwork, the “Religious Publications through the Centuries” within the framework of the program “Between Cultural Heritage and Art”, where religious publications from the 17th-20th centuries were displayed for the first time. Among many other activities of the museum, there is also highlighted the concert of ancient Mediterranean music “Vox baroque”. /a.f/r.e/p.s./

This museum also remains an attractive destination for cultural tourism, while in the first 4 months of the current year it has welcomed over 3900 visitors.

Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation Blendi Gonxhja shared today a view of the museum, which he considered a unique treasure with one of the largest collections of icons in the Balkans.

Since 1980, this museum has preserved a valuable heritage reflecting an extraordinary cultural wealth.

Here are over 5 thousand objects from the medieval period, including icons, manuscripts and other artifacts dating back to the 13th up to the 19th century.

Many icons created by renowned masters such as Onufri and Konstandin Shpataraku are the soul of this museum and hold a lot of history in itself.

The advanced techniques used to create these icons show the skills and creativity of Albanian medieval artists.

This museum is an important center for the restoration and preservation of icons, ensuring that these precious treasures remain intact for future generations.

Special exhibitions and cultural events are also organized in these spaces, which turn it into a platform for contemporary artists, promoting medieval art in a modern context as a key point of cultural tourism. 30 thousand people visited this museum during 2023. /m.m/a.f/p.s./

Attending the event moderated by Prof. Dr. Neritan Ceka, were President of the Academy of Sciences Skënder Gjinushi, Vice President Vasil Tole, Scientific Secretary Shaban Sinani, as well as academicians, well-known researchers and students of the Faculty of History.

Xhufi spoke about the obscure period of the Middle Ages, which is considered its first period, i.e. the early Middle Ages.

Speaking about the history of Albania, we should pay homage to the Albanian professors and especially to Aleks Buda, who created the Albanian historiographical school.

Further on, Xhufi said that, “The Venice Archive is like an endless mine, where there are about 2500 files with materials about Albania. I have only processed 110 files for six months there, but in regard to the 2400 files that are not examined yet, there is needed an organized work and new staff must be created for this research. There are hundreds of Albanian students in Italian universities, but there are no students studying classical letters, ancient Greek, Latin, etc., which are necessary for albanological studies”.

He also presented a range of problems that hinder illumination of early medieval history.

In the end he said that, “Medieval Albania was a thriving country with independent cities and city-states, as Milan Shuflaj writes, which illuminated the history of Albanians in the territories of former Illyria”./ k.s/p.s./