Martyrs of the Nation Boulevard

The principal boulevard in Tirana is a symbolic and ambiguous site, generating many different meanings. It offers an overview of the country’s history. The boulevard and the city’s main square together create an excellent urban-planning foundation, designed by the Italian architect Gherardo Bosio, an example of the rationalist architecture from the period of the fascist occupation of Albania.

“Martyrs of the Nation Boulevard witnessed successive authoritarian governments, from the monarchy and the Italian occupiers to the communists. Here military parades and state festivities were held, and today it is where manifestations and protests gather. It is also the site of the most Western European project in the postwar architecture of Albania. When beginning work on the series of paintings devoted to this space, I first had to reflect on its complex essence.” (Edi Hila)