Jani Ndoni Zengo (Papajani) (1832–1913) was an
Albanian photographer, calligrapher, teacher and priest. He is widely recognized as the first person to practice photography in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
Life
Papa Jani Zengo was born on 17 January 1832 in the mountainous village of
Dardhë
Dardhë (; sq-definite, Dardha, literally "pear") is a community in the former municipality of Drenovë in Korçë County, Albania. After local government reform in 2015, it became part of the municipality Korçë. It is a well known ski area of A ...
, southeastern Albania, the son of local priest Andon Zengo (Papa Ndoni) and a homemaker. Zengo finished his elementary schooling in Dardhë and later attended the Greek Gymnasium of
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...
. He was sent by his father to
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
where he learned the craft of
xylography which he practiced as a profession. There, the young Zengo became acquainted with the newly formed craft of
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
. Two years later he returned to Albania and began work as a carpenter. From 1859 to 1862 he was appointed teacher in Ziçisht and then Pisoder. In a manuscript dated 15.01.1866, Jani is mentioned to have created an alphabet in the Albanian language containing 33 letters. In 1869, he married a local villager by the name of Tushe Gjerazi and shortly thereafter migrated back to Greece, where he worked as a bookkeeper in the city of
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
and then as a wood decorator and photographer in
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
province. Zengo eventually returned to his village of Dardhë in 1882 where after several years is ordained a priest. His first recorded photograph was that of a local school in his village, dated in 1862.
Papa Jani Zengo 1832–1913
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References
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Albanian photographers
1832 births
1913 deaths