Archaeological Site of Butrinti

The ancient city of Butrint located 18 km south of Sarande is one of the most prominent and relevant historical – cultural sites of the country, representing at the same time e very significant part of world’s cultural Heritage. The natural system with its surroundings together with National Park has recently been brought under the protection of Ramsar International Convention. The ancient city of Butrint is also under UNESCO’s protection.
Objects of relevance to be found in the site that are attractive to tourists are:
• the ancient theatre of Butrint
• the paleo-christian baptistery, which is the biggest in the Balkans
• the Asclepius temple
It is a particular site for its historical, architectonic, archaeological and environmental values. It is declared World Heritage Property from UNESCO. Its history starts from the VII-VI century B.C. and continuous till the beginning of the XIX century. It is distinguished for the variety of monuments of different genders and periods. There you can find: prehistoric, antic, Byzantine, Venetian fortifications and those of the Turkish period, also a theatre, villas, temples, bathrooms, nymphets, aqueducts etc.
 

The Archaeological Museum of Butrinti

the Institute of Archaeology. Tirana

It was founded on 1950 in the surroundings of the Butrint's Venetian fortress. The archaeological material exhibited here shows the phases of town's life and the periods of its prosperity and collapse.
 

The Castle of Berat

The fortified town of Berat lies on a rocky hill 187 m high, which stands on the riverbank of Osum that is restricted with the last bank of the river from the hill of Gorica, and forms a strait, which connects the inner mountainous part with the widest Albanian field of Muzeqe. The strategic position of this town was valuated from the antic time that's way the two hills were fortified. During the middle age on the northern hill was developed a town, whose fortifications formed an octagon that surrounded a surface of 9,6 ha. The walls were built on antic bases, which were formed by big carved stone blocks placed in horizontal rows. The surrounding wall was reinforced from 24 towers; it has a main entrance and three other secondary entrances. In front of the main entrance there is a fortified yard. In the upper part of the hill there is the citadel, which is reinforced by five towers. Inside the citadel there is separated with a wall, a castle for a feudal family. In the centre of the citadel there is a big cistern completed with buttresses and arcades. Other protective buildings that belong to middle age are two walls that come down from the citadel up to the riverbank including a surface of 6 ha. The middle age walls keep constructive phases from the X century up to the beginning of the XIX century. Berat was declared a Museum Town in 1960. It is composed of three quarters. The Castle quarter, which is inside the surrounding walls of the castle, where are well preserved a number of Byzantine and post Byzantine castles of the XIII-XVIII century decorated with frescos. Two other quarters are those of Mangalem and Gorica, which lay on both sides of the river that passes in the lower part of the town and have buildings of the XVIII-XIX century. There are also some mosques that belong to the XV-XVIII century.