By Jerina Zaloshnja
– Excuse me Miss is this your scarfſ!
– The young lady, head bowed in shyness, ringlets caressing her neck, coyly darts a very quick, but prudent glance at the handkerchief, which is and isn’t hers. The initials on it appear to be right butŮ
It is not proper for her to pause any longer. She takes the handkerchief from the charming young man, who, for almost two minutes had been paying her such profound reverences in the middle of the city’s main boulevard, pats her nose and walks away. She is well aware of the fact that dozens of pairs of eyes are watching her every move from behind the wrought iron bars of the fences of the villas lining both sides of the street so she quickens her pace in the direction of home. With a refined intuition of a young woman who knows about “the modern” methods of courting, she has all the same, understood two important things: That the handkerchief had appeared as if by magic at her feet and that, despite the exaggerated care to imitate the endless handkerchiefs her mother embroidered for her, this one did not belong to her. And what is even more important is that she has understood that inside the handkerchief something had been concealed, something that will fill her life with joy, from this day onwards. A love letter.
The scene described above was not taken from a comedy by Moliere. This was a scene from the life of an Albanian city, typically European, in the twenties. This is no small city. Peaceful, with its clean streets, the gardens of the villas that line the streets are full of Oleander and other flowers. The city of Kor衬 180 kilometers South East of Tirana. Kor衠used to be known as Albania’s “little Paris,” for several reasons believed to be important.
“Le Petit Paris”
In Kor衠of the 20-30ties, different from many other towns and cities of Albania, there were two very good cinemas, The Lux and The Majestic, a coffee shop, that was famous in the whole country called, “The Panda”, the city Library and many other private libraries in the homes of the Kor衠families. After completing private studies at the Lyceum, or at the two foreign secondary schools of the city, the young girls of Kor衠focused on sewing and embroidering their dowries, they took piano lessons, fussed over the roses in the garden, and then, dressed in their best, they would go out for their evening stroll, hearts a-quiver with the expectation of perhaps finding a “fallen handkerchief.” The young men of Kor衬 on the other hand, continued schooling abroad, in the West. Historians relate that usually the bulk of these young men would return to their country after approximately a ten year experience in America, Bucharest, Paris and Alexandria. Another section of the young men of Kor衠completed their studies in their home town, at the famous French Lyceum or at the Greek Secondary School run by foreign professors and tutors and then they would take over the running of family businesses. The chronicles on life in the town at the time say that in the evenings these young men would gather at the “Panda” to drink a few mugs of the famous dark beer of Kor衠and deep in the night, it was not unusual to hear the serenade of a love-smitten young man, crooning to his beloved beneath her bedroom balcony.
Today it is nigh on impossible to imagine Kor衠in its heyday, (1920-30 up until the beginning of World War Two). The road that leads to the tiny town of Kolonja, was once the route the traders of Kor衠traversed which linked their town with the famous bazaar in the Balkans, in Janina. The other road that leads to the tiny village of Bilisht, was once the road to Manastir. Four foreign consulates once operated out of Kor衬 this city which strangely resembled a tiny corner of Europe in Albania; they were the Greek, Romanian, Italian and Yugoslav consulates. A Greek and a French secondary school, an American school an English school, and after 1950, the first American emissaries arrived who built the “Kennedy Charity Mission,” all formed a community of foreign tutors, lecturers, teachers, researchers, professors who taught several generations of the local youth. The remarkable Greek Nobel Prize winner in Poetry Jorgos Seferis lived in Kor衠for two years. In 1908, Albania’s first public film screening took place in the city of Kor衬 23 years after the Brothers Lumiere made their invention. It was a performance by the famous orchestra, “I Luppi di Toscana.” In Kor衬 all the principle buildings, typical of a Western city, the churches, the schools, the hospital, the libraries were all built by charity. Kor衠is the only city in the country that has ever known charity, philanthropy, as one of the ways of actually developing the city’s life.
Kor衧s very own philanthropists, with considerable assets in Romania and the United States of America donated the famous Saint George Church, the building that housed the French Lyceum, the hospital, the old library. Evidence from the archives indicates that the same philanthropists of Kor衠donated innumerable scholarships for students of Kor衠outside of Albania, in the West.
The citizens of Kor衠(like all Albanians in the thirties’), traveled freely throughout Europe without a need for visas. They studied and worked there for several years and then returned to their city of birth, the links to which the people from Kor衠describe as “pangs of longing.” There was a permanent departure known as the “Field of Tears.” This was the clearing where relatives gathered to say their final farewells to their loved ones. Memories of this location are still fresh in the minds of the people and its very meaningful name, known to all Albanians, the field is still there to this day. There is no reason why Albanian refugees should forget their “Field of Tears.” Anyway the fields of Kor衠today differ from the Field of the Twenties. At that time, people emigrated but they returned years later. Today, refugees leave the country but do not come back.
Is there anything left of its former grace?
For an hour now I have been trying hard to understand precisely this, listening to Pandi Bello, one of the finest of Albanian musicologists, former Deputy Director of the Timishoara Opera for several years and now returned to his city of birth. “Kor衠resembles an exhausted and run-down house,” he says for Tirana Times, “an abandoned house which has long outlived its major and joyful moments.”
Following the absolute monarchy of 1997, there has been very little perspective for the development of the city. This is also one of the explanations for the profound exodus of the population. The average number of persons who left the city last year was 18 persons per day (April 2005-2006). 400 families from Kor衠per year have emigrated to the United States alone. The city’s life blood is being drained out of the body. “If you were to go to Ulster, Boston, Detroit, Chicago you would discover many people from Kor衠living there. The majority of the families inherit American citizenship. When the members of a certain family begin to leave, then eventually the entire family joins them,” Pandi says.
During the Summer month, the city is full of emigrants. There is so much movement and life that it becomes quite overwhelming. This surge of the return of the emigrants, on holiday, resembles a powerful wave at high tide. But, then it weakens and becomes the ordinary eddying low tide.
“Two days ago, my sister left home. Her son began to cry. My son grew up together with my sister’s two daughters, spent his childhood with them. Now, they can no longer grow up together and that is painful,” says Ana, pediatrician at the city’s hospital.
“Here, emigration assumed a different meaning,” says the well known musicologist. People from Kor衠would leave the country for a ten year period, then they would make their way back. Now, however, the issue is that there is very little hope that anyone will return if they leave. The reason for this is simple. Fifteen years in emigration, my brother has purchased a house in Athens and owns another property here. In short, he is far more better off than I am economically. There is no reason for him to return. I can’t see anything happening in this city in the foreseeable future. Innumerable villas are being constructed here in the city, in the village of Dardha, in Voskopoja, in Bellovod롩n Vithkuq (all villages renown for their scenic beauty). Villas are going up everywhere, but nothing else.”
The absence of future development plans can, in fact, also be observed via other details of day to day life. The city’s main boulevard is lined with restaurants on both sides of the street, former stately villas that have been renovated and turned into restaurants. The “Themistokli” Vila, that bears the name of a distinguished Albanian patriot of the twenties’ is one of these villas. This is perhaps Kor衧s most up-market restaurant, chiefly due to a perfect combination of traditional cuisine and an antique ambience. Howver, on Saturday evening when I wanted to dine there, I was in fact the restaurant’s only customer. The strains of an old serenade emitted by a gramophone that dates back to the last Century, and I alone broke the silence of Villa Themistokli. The manager told us that it only comes alive with the return of the emigrants. “The locals can’t afford to come here often,” he said.
Night life at the week end in this city also ends before 10:00 in the evening and the streets are soon deserted.
Nikolin M. is a young businessman who has decided not to leave his home town. He owns the town’s most trendy coffee bar, which he manages together with his father. However, although he does have a customer base, two managers do seem an overkill for such a small business. So you can often see the two men, father and son, sitting opposite each other, staring vacantly into space. Or you may seem them moving about the coffee bar aimlessly, no haste in their movements. “Why should we rush around. We have a good life,” the young businessman says.
* * *
It is painfully obvious that the golden times when this small city was acknowledged as the Petit Paris of Albania, have long since gone. Gone are the serenades in the street, the private piano lessons for the young girls of the local wealthy families, the declarations of love via the embroidered handkerchief, the trips throughout Europe and dozens of other little luxuries and benefits the citizens of Kor衠enjoyed. Times have changed, there is now a different tempo of life. Everyone understands this and agree with the change. But no one really knows if the change is for good or bad.
A history of civilization
In the period feudal princedoms, Korca belonged to the Muzakaj family. In “History and Genealogy of Muzakaj value”, written by the Albanian prince Gjon Muzakaj, in 1510, Korca is mentioned as a castle since 1280. The documents evidences for civilization in Korca, according to a Turkish register of the first half of XV-th century, tell for a fortress as a soldier centre. Korca took part in feudal family of Muzakaj during the period of feudal princedom. The moment of city establishment dates with the end of XV-th century, when Iliaz Bey Mirahori builds a big mosque in Peshkepi village (1469), which maintained also nowadays. This Bey was from Panariti village and was called Ilia Panariti (Christian name).
In the middle of century XIX, Korca had 10 thousand inhabitants.
In the 1879 Korca had 1500 houses with 13 thousand inhabitants.
In the 1923 the population reached 25 598 inhabitants, becoming the biggest city of Albania.
In the 1927 Korca became a Prefecture.
Korca was the center of Renaissance and National Movement. In 1887 was opened te first school for males and later in 1891 it was opened the first school for females.
During 1906 – 1912 Korca patriots tool place in the war for the country liberation from the ottoman invaders.
During the First World War, Korca was invaded by Austro – Hungarian army, then by Greeks. The French Lice, which was opened in 1917, had a great influence in education and culture of the city. French Cemetery situated just outside the city attest the homage that citiziens make to the French soldiers.
During the period of King Zog, the city took an economical development, because of the factories and enterprises as : tobacco factory, alcohol distillery in Drenove village, alcohol factory “Merkuri”, some textile manufactories, ect. A good tradition was created for leather elaboration and a great importance was the factory of “Beer of Korca” in 1934.
National Museum of Icons of the Middle Ages
There are 7500 objects of religious art, six thousand of which are wooden icons. The bulk of these icons was found in the zones of Korca, but in other cities as well, chiefly Southern Albania. Four of these objects do come from the northern city of Shkodra and date back to the 19th Century. They express the Catholic beliefs of the population of the area.
The icons of the Museum of Korca date back to the last period of the Byzantine Empire from 13-14 Century to 19th Century. Most of them belong to the post-Byzantine period. The icons of the 14-16 Centuries are nameless because at the time it was not customary for artists to leave their signatures engraves on their work. The only knowledge we have is the Churches they were found in. Among the most interesting items of the Museum’s funds are icons of the 16th Century, painted by Onufri, an outstanding iconographer of this period. Te majority of the icons of Onufri have been restored in Greece, according to a five year program with the Byzantine Museum of Thessaloniki. The icons like Saint Nikolla, Saint Djela; alfresco work of the 14th Century, two icons of Arch Angel Mikail, are among the most important items the museum has.
Vangjush Mio, remarkable artist, but he left me nothingō
Kozeta Mio-the daughter of the famous artist talked to Tirana Times about the life and work of Albania’s most well known landscape painter of the last Century, artist Vangjush Mio.
My father was a landscape artist from Kor衮 He devoted his entire existence to art. At a very young age Mio went abroad, to Bucharest in Romania to study. This is where he opened his first exhibition. He continued higher studies in Rome from 1920 to 1924, at the Institute of Fine Arts. On graduating he returned to Kor衠with the intention to stay forever.
My father was known better for his landscapes. He worked and roamed the country. He intimately knew and depicted on canvas scenery from Himara in the south and from all over Albania. Critics of the period called him the master of landscape painting. He also painted portraits however and still nature. Many foreigners have visited the museum, “Vangjush Mio,” and have said to me: “Do you realize that your father was a distinguished landscape artist, but also a talented portrait artist?”
My father painted for forty years. At the beginning of his career, (towards the end of the forties), he also worked as an arts teacher at the French Lyceum in Kor衬 after the war as well. In the time of the communist regime he worked as a stage decorator at the local theatre. He died at 65 years of age in 1957, in poverty. He painted about 400 works, the majority of which are landscapes, portraits and still nature, about 300 drawings in pencil and carbon pastels. All the works of Mio were brought together in a special museum, set up about thirty years ago which bears the name of the Vangjush Mio Museum. All visitors to Kor衠are usually curious to see his work. However, something really strange has happened. Irrespective of his fame, very few works of his have been sold. In the time of communism, they changed hands for a loaf of bread, while todayƉ would have preferred to have sold some of the works by my father but I have not been able to.
