Secret Craftsmanship

Eri Grazhdani, a skin painter

His parents had other plans for him. They also thought of a kind of art, but it was related to cooking. Eri Grazhdani exceeded all expectations. He didn’t become a cook, but a tattoo artist. He would face the scorn of his parents, the wrinkled ... • Posted: 12 October 2019

Gentiana Bëxolli, a “doctor” for books

As you enter the building’s lobby, the unmistakable smell of paper directs you to halls filled with books. In the old library of Tirana, as it is known by the locals, it seems as if you enter another world. Walls lined with beautiful, very beau... • Posted: 5 October 2019

Petraq Papa, a hand hiding behind the images of postage stamps and banknotes

Despite all the works of art exhibited in galleries and museums, his works are the most popular and the most tangible. Most likely, those who recognize its authorship are very few, but this is what worries Petraq Papa the least, who has made images o... • Posted: 28 September 2019

Remember Zuna, the master who keeps the Circus tent safe

He is the last to leave the tent. His heartbeat returns to normal when the last spectator leaves. He has checked them several times, even during the show, he behaves around him. The concern is great. The lives of 600 spectators and all the artists de... • Posted: 14 September 2019

Petrit Kozeli, a shoemaker-ambassador in Mantua

“We are all instruments. We give messages of peace”. It is enough to see the walls of his shop, filled with orders of honor and thanks received from high dignitaries, from His Holiness, Pope Francis, to the President of the Italian Republ... • Posted: 7 September 2019

Koralda Prifti, the “guardian” of the historical wardrobe of the National Theatre

As she tries to mend the laces of a pink dress, torn by time, she feels as if she hears the sweet voice of Drita Pelinku, as she covered her with a blanket: “My sweet, my little one”! Koralda The priest’s eyes are filled with tears.... • Posted: 30 August 2019

Frederik Stamati among the restoration formulas: How I put together the 8123 parts of the Shield of Apollonia

The restoration of an object for him is a formula of chemistry or physics. With hours to look for a solution, which among many alternatives must be the right one, otherwise the damage will be irreversible. You can say without fear that Frederik Stama... • Posted: 23 August 2019

Vasillaq Kolevica, to create from clay

The book of Revelation says that God took some clay, breathed into it, and thus created the first man. As a good and Christian corsair, Vasillaq Kolevica would call it blasphemy to be compared to God, but he also feels like a god in his studio, where... • Posted: 17 August 2019