Albania - Cultural

The Albania culture has influences from many countries including Greek, Roman, Italian, Byzantine, Turkish and Slavic. The wild natural beauty of the country, the archaeology and the quirkiness of life there, with very little traffic and no religion has drawn many people over the years and many are left with a deep affection for Albania.

For art lovers the paintings of the V and the XV century was strongly influenced by the Byzantines, although between the XV and XVII centuries and the end of the early Renaissance, the influence of the Italians was very strong. Religious images were very popular in the middle of the XVIII century and continued to be common until the XX century. Vangjush Mijo and Androniqi Zenge, artists of the XX century, introduced impressionism to the art world in the west. Odhise Paska was a sculptor and produced magnificent sculptures of Albanian heroes. Some of the architecture of the old monuments in Albania are from the first millennium before Christ and were constructed by the Illyrians. Albania was occupied by Greek and Romans and they constructed structures that are still visible in urban and rural landscapes today. The Christian religious architecture came to light in the north of Albania, where as the Islamic and Turkish architectonic style emerged in the south.

In the middle of the XX century most of the Albanian cities had houses of two floors with tiled roofs. In regions where there was an abundance of wood the houses were constructed of planks instead of brick. Nowadays this type of house dominates the urban zones and the suburbs, whereas the style of traditional architecture is visible in the rural and mountainous regions.

In Albania there are several museums of archaeology, ethnography and religious and nonreligious art. The capital Tyrant, houses The National Museum of Archaeology, founded in 1948. The most prestigious library is the National Library, built in1922 and is also located in Tyrant. It has a million books, the majority acquired through confiscation of private libraries by the communists. The University of Tyrant, founded in 1957 has a great collection of books also.

A cultural holiday is the perfect way to relax and embrace the cultural heritage of Albania while learning something new. We have a number of wonderful villas all perfectly positioned for you to embark on your cultural holiday. Simply choose your destination and we are sure you will find your ideal villa quickly and easily.