The 1913 Borders and the Secret Partition Plan of 1915 From the Treaty of Peace of 30 May 1913 to the secret agreement of 26 April 1915: how the Great Powers defined the Albanian state, drew its borders and, two years later, returned to negotiating its territory. EL…

Ancient DNA Enters the Great Mystery of the Balkans ELTON VARFI For centuries, the question of Albanian origins has hovered between history, archaeology, and linguistics. In 2026, a study published in Nature Human Behaviour added a witness to the case that does not u…

Did Homer Speak Albanian? The Mystery of the Iliad’s Opening Words The thesis of Luftulla and Liljana Peza tested against the text: μῆνις / mëni, manuscripts, Linear B, and the history of Albanian ELTON VARFI A Thesis to Be Tested, Not Ridiculed On 14 August 20…

Skanderbeg’s true face? The “Scander Beco” portrait attributed to Gentile Bellini: between discovery, clues and missing evidence The painting that resurfaced at a New York auction in 2020 has been presented as a portrait of Gjergj Kastrioti painted from life in Ve…

Noah’s Ark on the Balkan Horizon From Moikom Zeqo to Carlo Ranzo: an investigation into an impossible sighting of 1575 Elton Varfi

VILLA 31 Inside Enver Hoxha's Forbidden House An underground swimming pool, an escape tunnel, thousands of books and a neighbourhood forbidden to the rest of the city. Today the dictator's former residence has become an art space. Yet its roaoms continue to …

Durrës Before Durrës Were Epidamnos and Dyrrachion Really the Same City? Ancient sources tell a more complex story than a simple change of name Elton Varfi  For centuries the history of Durrës has been told through two names: Epidamnos and Dyrrachion. But when the…

Albanian Chronicles: now available in English Today I am pleased to announce an important step in the editorial journey of Albanian Chronicles : the first two volumes of the series are now available in English. This is not simply a lingui…