Shan Pici, the photographer of the highlands

TIRANA, Dec. 25 – The Albanian northern highlands in the 1930s are being featured in a special exhibition by Shan Pici, one of the greatest Albanian photographers, a student of the Marubi dynasty based in the northern town of Shkodra. The exhibition showcasing 50 black and white pictures by Pici bring back life in the northern Albanian mountain region from 1932 to 1938 just before the onset of Ward War II.
The pictures which are part of the Marubi photo collection in Shkodra bring back landscapes from the northern Albanian districts of Malesia e Madhe, Tropoja, Kukes, Puka and Mirdita. Pici, nicknamed as the Photographer of the Highlands, will have his exhibition featured at the National Museum of History in Tirana until November 28.
Lu諡n Bedeni, the director of the Marubi photo collection, says Pici started his career with the Marubi studio in Shkodra at a very young age and opened his own studio when he was 18 in 1924 to continue shooting for nearly 70 years.
“Differently from the Marubi pictures which are dominated by studio pictures, Pici shoots in outdoor facilities and prefers landscapes and especially the Alps and this is why he has been nicknamed Shan Pici of the Highlands,” says Bedeni.
The Marubi photo collection hosts around 53,000 negatives by Shan Pici.
Albanian photography started with Pietro Marubi, an Italian emigrant fleeing political repression from his country. He opened Albania’s first photography studio in 1858. Three generations of Marubis will follow in his footsteps. For about a century, the Marubi family amassed more than 120,000 negatives. The selection of pictures reveals the political, social, cultural and religious diversity of the country.