The Promenade in Shkodra is a beautiful historic street that captures some of the European aesthetic experience with its decorative and delicate designs. The promenade is just under 1km in length, measuring 800m long, and is paved entirely with beautifully-decorated cobblestones. Recently renovated, it reflects the architecture of ages gone by, where time and patience were taken when crafting things of lasting beauty. As a result, this picturesque promenade reflects the time, beauty, and quietude of the ones who tread on it.
The Promenade has become one of the most alluring touristic attractions in the country in recent years. The street has always been one of the city’s most populated since its construction during the 20th century. Much like in the revered walkways of many old European towns, the old and the new seamlessly align on this bustling avenue. Locals and tourists walk along it to the rhythms of music, their constant companion.
The Promenade owes its peculiar beauty to Kolë Idromeno, the most renowned painter from the city and creative force behind its design. The talented artist painted the town with a Venetian-inspired aesthetic, while carefully leaving many of the traditional local elements in place. As a student in Venice in the 20th century, he became fascinated with the glowing, alluring atmosphere of the great Italian city and decided to bring some of that magic to his hometown.
Today, the pleasant low-rise buildings, pretty gardens, decorated windowsills, narrow cobblestone alleys, and the glow of the evening lamps combine to inspire an intense sensory experience, leaving an extremely memorable aftertaste. The promenade connects the city center with the Museum of History and is filled to the brim with street artists, alongside a huge variety of art and photography shops and studios.
Among the many attractions is the impressive, newly-renovated Marubi National Museum of Photography, a beautiful symbol of modern architecture that contains the oldest, most extensive collection of Albanian photography in the country. It also includes the first-ever photograph of Albania, taken in 1858 by Pjetër Marubi. In addition to the history of the famed family of photographers, the Marubis, the museum hosts excellent contemporary exhibitions.
The center of the town forks into two separate boulevards where the traditional old houses from the 1800s beautifully intermingle with the new ones. On the right, the traditional houses line up along the street to create an almost open-air museum, alongside the oldest neighborhood in town. These Venetian-style, two-story houses create a distinctive atmosphere within this famed northern city, one that is equally Albanian as it is more universal.
In conclusion, this magical street is truly an artistic journey through space and time. Albania, Venice, modern art and architecture, the old, the music, and the people all intersect at this magnificent point in the north of the country. A visit to Shkodra’s Promenade is a must for anyone interested in exploring the city’s artistic and cultural history.
