Richard Hodges

Eternal Butrint: A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Albania Richard Hodges

Located at a crossroads in the Mediterranean, the site of Butrint is a microcosm of changes in the region over the last 3,000 years. Few UNESCO World Heritage Sites command such scientific interest - and few are more richly documented. Set in a marshy landscape between an inland lagoon and the busy straits separating Corfu and Albania, Butrint boasts well-preserved, photogenic remains from most periods. The site has been occupied since at least the 8th century BC, and Virgil recounts how the Trojan exile, Aeneas, landed here before he founded Rome. Subsequent travellers have all recognised an elegiac beauty in the site. This book charts the development and change of Butrint, using the archaeological remains and environment to paint a grand, complex picture worthy of its millennia of history. It is illustrated with exceptional paintings by Grand Tourists like Edward Lear, the magnificent photographs of Luigi Ugolini, the recently discovered archives of the Communist period, and the Butrint Foundation's rich documentation. The book concludes by analysing how tourists are bringing economic hope to Albania as they dicsover the myth of Aeneas in its unspoilt landscape.