Albanian frescoes sustain irreversible damage

Article created on Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Important medieval frescoes of St. Premte Chapel in the remote village of Valsh in central Albania, have suffered irreparable damage at the hands of thieves who tried to prize them from the walls.

The frescoes mainly depict religious scenes, some of which were created by Onufri, a 16th century icon painter who spent a period of his life in Valsh.Widely considered to be Albania’s greatest icon painter, Onufri is renowned for his colours and style and introduced greater realism and individuality into facial expressions, breaking with the strict conventions of Byzantine art. His works were signed with the title “Protopapas” (Greek: Πρωτόπαππας), demonstrating a senior position in the church hierarchy.

St. Premte Chapel. Image: Auron Tare

Irreversible damage 

Initial damage to the frescoes was sustained on 30 December 2012 when the Chapel was closed and unguarded. Local people made the discovery soon after and notified the authorities – but no action was taken – allowing the thieves to strike again on 4 January 2013.

The thieves mainly concentrated on removing the heads of the saints, some of which they managed to hack from the walls, while other unsuccessful attempts left parts of the frescoes crumbling on the floor.

Artan Shkreli and Auron Tare, two Albanian heritage experts, visited the Chapel soon after, in order to assess the damage. Appalled at what they saw, they then felt compelled to stage a protest in front of the Ministry of Culture and to notify the media in order to bring attention to the situation.

The pair are now calling for action and accountability and Shkreli who heads the Forum for the Protection of Heritage, said that as far as he knows it is the worst crime of its type to have taken place in Albania in the past 20 years.

Fresco with large amount of damage around the head area. Image: Auron Tare

Tougher punishments called for 

Tare firmly believes that there needs to be far tougher punishments for those who damage or steal from cultural heritage sites. According to him prosecutions and punishments have been rare and therefore have no deterrent effect. He also explained that in 2007 the government dissolved the former system of custodians, which oversaw churches like the one in Valsh, making them vulnerable to this type of crime.

Olsi Lafe, who is head of the heritage department at the Ministry of Culture, said in a press conference that the government does not have the money and infrastructure to protect most of its cultural heritage sites.

“We manage a very large territory. Given that the number of monuments is large and many of them are located in very rural areas, away from residential centres, it is impossible to control them 24 hours a day.”

However, he insists that the Ministry is working with the police in order to apprehend the thieves.

Source:  http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/