National Museum’s Mosaic Under Restoration

This impressive large mosaic on the facade of the National Museum shows ancient Illyrians, Albanian nationalists and anti-Axis guerillas fighting for Albanian freedom

Tirana Times

TIRANA, May 25 – The mosaic featured in the central facade of the National Museum of History is being restored. Specialists of the Institute of Cultural Monuments are currently studying the mosaic to identify its restoration needs.
Specialist say intervention in the mosaic which has not been restored since its inauguration some 30 years ago is necessary because some of its parts are falling off.
“This is the biggest mosaic in the Balkans and one of the most difficult restoration projects our directorate has undertaken,” said Arben Kadia, the head of regional directorate of national culture in Tirana.
The restoration of the 440 square-meter mosaic is expected to finish by next November.
A proposal to remove the mosaic because of its communist elements two years ago sparked heated debate and the idea was finally rejected.
The museum facade displays the largest mosaic in the country, known as Albania.
This impressive large mosaic on the facade of the National Museum shows ancient Illyrians, Albanian nationalists and anti-Axis guerillas fighting for Albanian freedom. The communist red star in the centre was removed in 1994.
Albania’s history from the mid-Paleolithic to the present time can be seen in the National History Museum, the largest in Albania.
The museum was inaugurated in 1981. It has various sections, such as the Middle Ages, the National Revival, the Independence period, the World Wars, as well as areas devoted to antiquity, dictatorship, ethnography and iconography.