I posted a few weeks ago on repairs that were started on the bank on one of the main streets of Shkoder. The bank was burnt down during the riots in March 1997. Since then there has been no work done to it, nor did there seem to be any plan for reservation, even though it is still a beautiful building.
Now, it appears that the plan is to use the building to display the exhibition of “Foto Marubi”.
Pjeter Marubi was an Italian that came to Shkoder in the mid 1850’s. He took with him some photographic apparatus and took the first photos in Albania, particularly of people in Shkoder and the North of Albania.
There are around 150,000 photographs as part of this collection dating between around 1850-1940. Since 1994 there have been endeavours to make Marubi’s work better known to the public.
At the moment, the exhibition is very well hidden, behind some building near the centre of Shkoder. It would not surprise me if many local people never knew where the exhibition is situated – nor the “treasure” within. A more public building will be more accessible to the rising number of tourists that are now visiting Shkoder, giving this exhibition it’s proper place in the town’s history!
This can only be good for Shkoder.
( I believe there is a book available on the work of Pjeter Marubi )
