Italy and Albania sign five-year memorandum to digitize archival heritage

Antonio Tarasco, Director General of Archives at Italy's Ministry of Culture, and Ardit Bido, Director of the Archives of the Republic of Albania, signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding to digitize and enhance the archival heritage of both countries. The agreement provides for the exchange of specialists to access documents on the historical past of Italians in Albania and Albanians in Italy, with the aim of organizing exhibitions and reviews on topics of common interest. Tarasco stated that the memorandum marks a significant turning point in institutional, scientific, and cultural relations, enabling the construction of inter-Adriatic archival networks. This builds on a June 2022 project that established 'archive points' at the Universities of Calabria and Palermo, the Municipality of Frascineto, and the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi, allowing students and researchers to access the Albanian State Archives online and request electronic reproductions. Albanian archives hold documents of notable interest for contemporary literary studies, including the 6th-century Codex Purpureus of Berat, a Greek uncial manuscript containing copies of the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark, preserved at the National Archive of Tirana, and autograph materials of writer Ismail Kadare (1936–2024).