Durrës

A half-hour drive from Tirana, on the Adriatic coast, lies the port city of Durres, the most important port city in Albania. This city played an important role throughout history, especially during the Roman Empire. From here, the road to Constantinople, called the Via Egnatia, began—the main road of the Roman Empire that connected Rome with Constantinople. Travelers arrived in Durres from Italy, crossing the narrow Straits of Otranto on the Adriatic Sea, and continued on foot through the valleys of southern Albania to Thessaloniki, and from there to Constantinople.

According to legend, Durres was founded by the Illyrian king Epidamnos, who named it after his grandson Dir, 4,000 years ago. In the 7th century BC, Durres was invaded by the Greeks, who called the place Dyrrhachium. In the 4th century BC, Dyrrhachium became an independent city producing metals, pottery, leather, fabrics, and ships, and minting coins that were widely used throughout the world. The Illyrians managed to regain control of Durres in the 3rd century BC and made it their capital, but it was later conquered by the Romans, who maintained the name Dyrrhachium and made it the beginning point of the Via Egnatia—the vital road connecting Rome and Byzantium. Cicero referred to Durres as “the venerable city,” and Catullus called it “the inn of the Adriatic.”

From the 10th to the 14th centuries, the city was ruled by Bulgarians, Normans, Crusaders, Venetians, Serbs, and others. At the beginning of the 15th century, it was conquered by the Ottomans, who planned to use it as a base for invading Italy—a plan thwarted by Skanderbeg’s rebellion. In 1914, after the Italians conquered Vlora, Durres briefly became the capital of Albania until 1920, when the capital was moved 30 km inland to the newly developing city of Tirana. In many ways, Durres serves as the port and suburb of Tirana, much like Piraeus is to Athens.

Durres is now the second largest city in Albania and its main port. It features a beautiful promenade with cafés, a Roman amphitheater, a Byzantine-era wall, medieval Venetian towers, and an archaeological museum rich with fascinating finds. The amphitheater—the largest of its kind in the Balkans—dates to the 2nd century AD, possibly the time of Hadrian. In one of the city’s houses, a beautiful mosaic was discovered: the head of a woman surrounded by flowers. Roman baths have also been found. To the west of the city, on a hill, stands the villa of King Zog.