“Incredible news! UNESCO has inscribed the archive of negatives, objects and documents of Pietro Marubbi and Kel Marubi on Memory of the World International Register,” Gonxhja wrote on the social media.

“One of the most precious treasures of our national memory is now part of the world heritage,” he added.

“This rare photographic treasure that has preserved the image, life, history and spirit of Albanians, receives today the highest international recognition. This is not just recognition of the contribution of Marubs, the founders of Albanian photography, but also an extraordinary recognition for Shkoder, the city that gave life to the art, culture and memory of a nation,” Gonxhja said.

The Marubi archive consists of more than half a million negatives on glass, roll and plan films, as well as objects and documents of fifteen photographers preserved at the Marubi National Museum of Photography in Shkoder, at present the only national institution for photography in Albania.

This nomination is related to the collections of the first photographers of the Marubi archive, namely Pietro Marubi (1832-1903), Mati Marubi (1862-1881), and Kel Marubi (1869-1940). Their collection bears witness to the birth of photography in Albania, almost simultaneously with Europe. The collection is a unique and irreplaceable evidence of historical, sociological, cultural, anthropological, and artistic aspects.

UNESCO’s Memory of the World program is designed to preserve and promote most important documents of human history all over the globe.

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