A project to refurbish Vlora’s historic center is already underway. The historic center – completely in ruins to date – and the surrounding area has become a huge construction site with intensive work underway to reconstruct and restore historic and cultural sites to their former glory. Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the restoration works inspected the ongoing restoration works on site that still preserves its identity with the traces of 19th and early 20th century buildings mostly intact.
The ambitious project includes restoration works on at least 68 cultural and historic monuments and other important sites in the city’s archaeological area. Work has currently begun in 53 monuments along “Justin Godar” road, former bazaar, Jewish neighborhood, Labëria club and former Synagogue, and the Tanners’ Mosque (Alb. Xhamia e Tabakëve), the city’s largest.
The Mayor of Vlora Dritan Leli that the buildings have been built during various periods with many of them dating back centuries ago, but they have been damaged during implementation of various infrastructure projects over the years. One of the most interesting building designed to become one of the city’s top tourist attractions is the Jewish Museum. “This is the building that will house the Jewish Museum. The damaged building will undergo almost whole reconstruction. For years, it has been serving as a residential building yet it bears a lot of traces of an historic building,” Vlora Mayor Dritan Leli said.
The project is designed to preserve the buildings’ historic and architectural values and their identity. “The façade will feature the characteristics of old buildings,” Mayor Leli added.
The Minister of Culture said that surprising findings have been unearthed during the restoration works, including three wells or diverse architectural elements that have been carefully restored to preserve their originality. “This is one of the unexpected findings during the restoration phase. Whole this site was discovered during the demolition work. The work pace has slowed down in order to preserve originality of these findings,” she said.
Prime Minister Edi Rama noted that when the project completes, it will open up a new promising world of tourism development in the area. “The project will turn the area into an incredible destination. The area was completely ruined, but it will now become an extraordinary area. Most recently I visited Korça, where the whole Bazaar area and the same should happen with this area. It will turn into a fantastic tourist attraction,” he said.
