EU4Culture project – Reviving Heritage: The Restoration of the former Archbishopric of Durrës in Albania

The EU funded EU4 Culture project in close partnership with the Ministry of Culture restores the historical Archbishopric of Durrës building in Albania.

In November 2019, Albania was hit by the country’s most deadly earthquake in the last 50 years. Estimated at a Richter magnitude 6.3, it caused extensive damage across 11 municipalities. The EU4Culture project is funded by the European Union (EU) and is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in close partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Albania. It focuses on renovation and revitalization of major cultural heritage sites damaged by the earthquake and represents one of the largest cultural heritage programmes funded by the European Union with a total budget of € 40 million. Guided by the “Building Back Better” principle, EU4Culture focuses on renovation of major cultural heritage sites in line with the UN Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. In parallel, the project aims to enhance Albania’s tourism potential, thus directly contributing to local and regional socio-economic recovery. To that aim, special focus is given to innovative technologies, including digital story-telling and creation of multimedia products designed to be accessible for all. At the same time, the project is supporting local entrepreneurship, artisanship and cultural initiatives evolving around selected sites through the allocation of grants, providing a direct boost to the local economy.