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

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

. In 1945, it ceased to serve as a Royal residence because the monarchist regime was substituted by a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-ruled government. Since 1946, it has been used by the

Government of Albania Albania is a Unitary state, unitary Parliamentary system, parliamentary Republic, 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 e ...

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 ful ...

Bujar Nishani 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 goal ...

, 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 signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' 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, 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. He ...

, entered into negotiations with a group of Italian financiers represented by Mario Alberti. An agreement was made for the opening of a national bank 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 In the British English-speaking world, The King refers to: * Charles III (born 1948), King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms since 2022 As a nickname * Michael Jackson (1958–2009), American singer and pop icon, nicknamed "T ...

to secure the funds to build the Royal Palace. The new palace was designed by three Italian architects, including

Giulio Berte Giulio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar * Giulio Alfieri (1924–2002), Italian a ...

. 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 opposin ...

, and the 1939 Italian Invasion of Albania, 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, 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 "k ...

), and later for his successor, the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

general Alberto Pariani. 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, and is still used popularly and by the Albanian media. During the

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 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 inside the premises of the Presidential Palace.

Gardens

Because of its situation near the Grand Park of Tirana, 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 Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (also known as ''King Leka I''; 5 April 193930 November 2011), was the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine of Albania. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. Leka was the pretender to the Kingdom of Alban ...

, 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 wif ...

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 Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

, 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

of the Republic of Albania, 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