Art dhe Kulturë

Rama and Michel at the National Historical Museum being restored with EU funds

Rama and Michel at the National Historical Museum being restored with EU funds

The Prime Minister Edi Rama and the President of the European Council Charles Michel continued the agenda of this day with a visit to the National Historical Museum, to see the progress of the restoration of the "Albania" Mosaic, the largest of its kind in Albania. The mosaic, built in 1981, the work of a group of Albanian artists, is being restored under the EU 4 Culture program, UNOPS in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture.

"Today, then I will go to your national historical museum and see the work that is going on at Mosaic. The Restoration of the Mosaic is a powerful symbol of the strong and great heritage of Albania and after the earthquake you mentioned, we told you that you can count on us to support you further and we are continuing our work more than ever. The European Union managed to raise all those funds as never before for infrastructure and you can be sure that you will be able to continue to rely on us, "said before this visit, during the joint press conference with Prime Minister Rama, the President of European Council Charles Michel.

The Minister of Culture Elva Margariti spoke about the Mosaic restoration project, the implementation of which extends even wider than the facade where it is located.

"The National Historical Museum is one of the most visited museums in Albania. Before the pandemic we had more than 100 thousand visitors a year. We aim to have much more with the implementation of the restoration of this building. It was one of the most damaged objects by the earthquake and with the EU funding we started with the restoration of the Mosaic, "said the Minister of Culture Elva Margariti, while emphasizing that the support received through the Eu4Culture program is among the most generous funding to help heritage cultural.

"The mosaic, one of the most important works, is being restored to the most damaged parts. This is the first facility we launched with the EU4 Culture program. It is the most generous support we have had after the earthquake for cultural heritage, more than 40 million euros for about 30 objects, areas that will be rebuilt. We are also working on the implementation of the complete restoration of the entire museum because since 1981 nothing has changed, except for a few minor repairs, also the Ministry of Culture has tried for this. Here we have all the dedicated staff of UNOPS, foreigners and Albanians. UNOP is the executive agency for the implementation of EU 4 Culture. It is a new reality for them because they have never worked with cultural projects.

Këtu po punohet me copëzat e mozaikut. Ka më shumë se 120 ngjyra të ndryshme që janë identifikuar. Gjithsecila prej tyre copëz pas copëze dhe historia e veçantë është që kemi identifikuar edhe fabrikën ku janë marrë në vitin 1981 në Venecia dhe jemi në kontakt me të njëjtën fabrikë që po e riprodhojnë. Pra është një tjetër bashkëpunim mes Shqipërisë dhe Europës, në këtë rast Italisë. Kjo është vepra më e madhe ku po kryejmë këtë ndërhyrje dhe është plot me simbole të socializmit apo fund socializmit por sa i përket pjesës artistike është një nga projektet më të mira në Shqipëri.”– shpjegoi ministrja Margariti.

Kryeministri Rama dhe Presidenti i Këshillit Europian Charles Michel ecën përgjatë sheshit Skënderbej, për të cilin Kryeministri Rama tregoi se është transformuar në një infrastrukturë moderne për qytetarët.

We have transformed Skanderbeg Square. All the greenery that is placed around here, is specially designed. The green vegetation fence did not exist before. The square has a slope that we rebuilt because it was different before. "Traffic and the movement of vehicles have been reoriented, the concept has completely changed," said the Prime Minister.