Tirana: the capital city of Albania

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This article is also available in: Italian

The city of Tirana is the capital of Albania. This city is located over a hundred meters above the sea level. The city occupies the Ishem River Valley, and is surrounded by hill ranges to the east, west and north. This in addition to being the capital of the country is also the largest urban agglomeration of Albania. Almost one million people reside in Tirana. The city is also the engine of the country’s economy. Here are the headquarters of the main industries of the country as well as the political and service center of all Albania.

FOUNDED BY THE TURKS AND MADE MODERN BY THE ITALIANS

Tirana was founded in the seventeenth century by the Turks, led by General Sulejman Pasha, who initially built a mosque, an oven and a Turkish bath, around these structures a small town gradually arose, defended by a garrison of soldiers. The city became the capital of the independent Kingdom of Albania in 1920.

In 1939 with the annexation of Albania to Italy, some interesting fascist-style buildings were built in the center of the city, based on a project by architects Florestano de Fausto and Armando Brasini, such as the Royal Palace (Palazzo delle Brigate), the Town Hall , the National Bank building and some government buildings, such as the current building of the Ministry of the Interior.

AN OTTOMAN HISTORICAL CENTER AND A NINETEENTH CENTURY PART OF ITALIAN MOLD

Tirana has an Ottoman-style historic center with mosques and bazaars, while the twentieth-century part of the city is deeply affected by the Italian architectural imprint, in this area it is possible to notice the planning made of large straight streets that give the city a modern character. Among the oldest buildings in Tirana, some mosques are worth mentioning, including that of Et’hem Bey, which was built between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. Among the museums, interesting is that of archeology and ethnography.