Lord Byron’s winning obelisk announced

TIRANA, Dec. 6 – An obelisk designed by painter Vladimir Llakaj has been announced the winning artwork of a competition to pay tribute to famous British poet Lord Byron, who visited and wrote about Albania in his early 19th century visit. The obelisk, selected out of 12 other proposals by a jury of seven experts, will be placed in the Lapraka neighbourhood, at the entrance of Tirana, in a newly reconstructed public square under a Tirana Municipality initiative.
Speaking at the prize award ceremony last weekend, Tirana Mayor Edi Rama described the artwork, which will be turned into a bronze obelisk, as the most suitable project which should be implemented in detail harmonizing the choice of material, size, lighting and background.
The jury awarded two other prizes for the best idea and best environment.
Vladimir Llakaj was awarded a 1,000 dollar cash prize for his winning work commemorating the famous poet who reflected his impressions of Albania in the second canto of the poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.”
The memorial to Lord Byron should have the size of Thomas Phillips’s portrait showing Byron in an Albanian traditional folk costume, and some lines from his poems on the background, says the municipality.
Launching the competition earlier, Tirana Mayor Edi Rama said the respect for Byron and his works, with a symbol in this city was a desire of the project’s admirers and the municipality to pay tribute to those who have died and had shown special interest and passion for the Albanian culture, including customs and costumes, as was the case of Lord Byron.
British poet, Lord George Gordon Byron (1788-1824), set out on a grand tour of the Mediterranean in 1809, in the course of which he visited Spain, Malta, Albania, Greece and Asia Minor. The first letter, written to his mother from Albania, betrays much of the excitement he felt on his first journey to the “Orient” and, in particular, at his meeting with the formidable tyrant Ali Pasha of Tepelena (1744-1822), the so-called Lion of Janina, today’s Ioannina, the biggest city of Epirus ruled by Ali Pasha until his death in 1822.