MONUMENT DE L'INDÉPENDANCE

This imposing monument (Monumenti i Pavarësisë) stands on the Flag Square in the center of Vlora. It is one of the most famous monuments in the country along with the one dedicated to Skanderbeg in Tirana. It was inaugurated in 1972 on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the declaration of independence of Albania on November 28, 1912. It is a bronze statue of 17 m height of socialist realist style with seven figures. At the bottom, the central figure is Ismail Qemali (1844-1919), a politician from Vlora who declared independence and was the first president of the country. He is surrounded by five fighters symbolizing Albanian regions. At the top stands the bearer of the national flag. The work was created by three of the most active artists of the communist period: Mumtaz Dhrami (born 1936), Shaban Hadëri (1928-2010) and Kristaq Rama (1932-1998). The latter is the father of Prime Minister Edi Rama, elected in 2012. Shaban Hadëri is the author of the magnificent statue representing the fighter Isa Boletini, in Shkodra. In the park behind the monument is the large marble tomb of Ismail Qemali. It was installed here in 1932 on the spot where the flag was raised during the declaration of independence. The tomb is guarded by a bronze statue of a soldier carrying the flag. This was executed by Odhise Paskali (1903-1985), another great Albanian sculptor who is responsible for the statue of Skanderbeg in Tirana.