The Presidential Palace (), formerly the Royal Palace () and popularly known as the Palace of Brigades (), is the official residence of the

President of Albania The president of Albania ( sq, Presidenti i Shqipërisë), officially styled the President of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and the representa ...

. The palace was commissioned by King Zog I of the Albanians to serve as his main

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

. In 1945, it ceased to serve as a Royal residence because the monarchist regime was substituted by a Communist-ruled government. Since 1946, it has been used by the

Government of Albania Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, where the President of Albania is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Albania the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government ...

for holding official ceremonies and state receptions. In 2013, the palace became an official residence once again, when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Bujar Nishani Bujar Nishani (; 29 September 1966 – 28 May 2022) was an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2012 to 24 July 2017. Nishani was the youngest person to have been chosen as president of Albania, taking office at ...

and his family moved into a reconstructed villa inside the grounds of the palace. Architecturally, the palace belongs to a

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...

style. It is unique in its genre, not only in the country but in the wider sphere of

fascist architecture Fascist architecture encompasses various stylistic trends in architecture developed by architects of fascist states, primarily in the early 20th century. Fascist architectural styles gained popularity in the late 1920s with the rise of modernism a ...

, including in Italy itself. Its bas-reliefs were covered with drapes in the 1970s during the

cultural revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, but not destroyed. Nevertheless, the palace as a whole is in dire need of restoration. A description of the then new (and unfinished) Royal Palace appeared in the issue of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' dated 22 May 1939.

History

The idea to build a royal palace on one of the hills of Sauk, near what was later to become the

Grand Park of Tirana The Grand Park of Tirana ( sq, Parku i Madh i Tiranës), or the Park on the Artificial Lake, is a 289 hectare public park situated on the southern part of Tirana, Albania, and administered by the Agency of Parks and Recreation of the Municipality ...

, was first conceived by

King Zog I Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...

in the 1930s. Because of the limited funds of the nascent Albanian state, the then Minister of Finance,

Mufid Libohova Mufid Bey Libohova (1876 in Libohovë – 1927 in Sarandë) was an Albanian economist, diplomat and politician and one of the delegates at the Assembly of Vlorë (28 November 1912) where the Albanian Declaration of Independence took place. H ...

, entered into negotiations with a group of Italian financiers represented by Mario Alberti. An agreement was made for the opening of a

national bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

and for a loan of 50,000,000 gold francs (approximately 10,000,000 gold dollars). Part of this loan, also called "The SVEA Loan", was earmarked for the construction of his official residence, making it possible for the King to secure the funds to build the Royal Palace. The new palace was designed by three Italian architects, including Giulio Berte. Due to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and the 1939

Italian Invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

, King Zog I fled Albania and never had a chance to see the palace fully constructed. The

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

finished construction and used the palace mainly for the Army Headquarters. The building was redesigned and completed in 1941, by the Florentine architect

Gherardo Bosio Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi ...

. The building served as a functioning Royal palace only once, for King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy during his only visit to Albania in May 1941. During the remainder of the Second World War, it served as the

for

Francesco Jacomoni Viceré Marchese Francesco Jacomoni di San Savino (31 August 1893 – 17 February 1973) was an Italian diplomat and minister to Albania before World War II. He was appointed governor of the Italian protectorate of Albania after its Invasion. Bi ...

, the first ''Luogotenente del Re'' (the title of the Italian

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

), and later for his successor, the fascist general

Alberto Pariani Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alber ...

. Both lived there along with their families. After Italy capitulated in September 1943, the Albanian officer who served the palace hid the Palace's official flag from the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and sent it to Italy, where it remained until 2003, when it was purchased by Artan Lame and returned to Albania. After the German takeover of the country in September 1943, the

Albanian parliament The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a ...

convened in the Palace and proclaimed the detachment of the Albanian Crown from the Italian Crown. In 1945 the palace was renamed as the Palace of the Brigades, a name which remained in use throughout the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, and is still used popularly and by the Albanian media. During the Communist regime it served mainly as a government reception facility. The official name of the palace was changed after the fall of the Communist regime in 1992 as the Presidential Palace. In January 2010, the

Municipality of Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

proposed that parts of the palace be opened to the general public. On 8 October 2016, Leka II,

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the throne of Albania, was allowed by the Albanian authorities to organise the

wedding reception A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...

of his marriage to Ms.

Elia Zaharia Elia, Princess of Albania (''née'' Zaharia; born 8 February 1983) is an Albanian actress, former singer and wife of Leka, Prince of Albania. They married on 8 October 2016 in Tirana. Early life and education She was born on 8 February 1983 in T ...

inside the premises of the Presidential Palace.

Gardens

Because of its situation near the

, the palace gardens are quite extensive. The Royal Palace is surrounded by trees for nearly 200 metres. The gardens are decorated in patterns and shapes of various designs. The palace also has a tennis court.

Challenge to government ownership

In February 2013, Leka Zogu, pretender to the throne of Albania and who styles himself as the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

of Albania, began a legal challenge, claiming that he was the rightful owner of the Presidential Palace on the grounds that the property had belonged to

in his personal capacity, and that thus Prince Leka retained ownership as the former's heir. Leka Zogu claims to have won ownership of the building after a decision of August 2013 by the Supreme Court of Albania, and has declared that the palace would become the main official residence of the "Royal Court of Albania" (); but as of 2016, the palace has remained in government possession and continues serving as the

of the

Republic of 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 l ...

, and State receptions and ceremonies, such as the annual end-of-year "Presidential Ball", continue to be held in the palace.Ja cfare ndodhi në "Ballon Presidenciale"
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References

External links

The Presidential Palace in 1939.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pallati I Brigadave Government buildings in Tirana Buildings and structures in Tirana Palaces in Albania Royal residences in Albania Government buildings completed in 1941 Houses completed in 1941

History

Gardens

Challenge to government ownership

See also

References

External links