Albanian wins youth painting competition in Slovakia

TIRANA, Jan. 31 – Adi Totaj, a first-year high school student in the medresse of Berat has won an international youth painting competition in Slovakia. The young talented painter was awarded the first prize for his painting of an 18th century bridge in the southern town of Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The 18th edition of the “A Youthful Vision 2012” was organized by the Bansk᠊tiavnica municipality on the occasion of its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Andi Totaj beat 1,458 students aged between 13 to 15 to win the first prize with his Gorica painting.
“This event will contribute to helping children gain deeper understanding of humanityճ most important values as well as bringing the nations of the world closer together,” says Nadeߤa BabiakovᬠMayor of Bansk᠊tiavnica.
The Gorica Bridge, which connects two parts of Berat was originally built from wood in 1780, but was later rebuilt with stone in the 1920s. The 7 arch bridge is 129 metres long and 5.3 metres wide and is built about 10 metres above the average water level. According to local legend, the original wooden bridge contained a dungeon in which a girl would be incarcerated and starved to appease the spirits responsible for the safety of the bridge.
Since 2008, Berat has been inscribed as a rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It features a castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417.
Berat bears witness to a town which was fortified but open, and was over a long period inhabited by craftsmen and merchants. Its urban centre reflects a vernacular housing tradition of the Balkans, examples of which date mainly from the late 18th and the 19th centuries. This tradition has been adapted to suit the town’s life styles, with tiered houses on the slopes, which are predominantly horizontal in layout, and make abundant use of the entering daylight.