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Academician Emin Riza, prominent researcher of cultural heritage, passes away

Politiko 2026-07-22 13:41:12

Academician Emin Riza, prominent researcher of cultural heritage, passes away

Academic Emin Riza, one of the most renowned Albanian researchers in the field of cultural heritage, has passed away at the age of 89.

 

He was born on July 3, 1937 in Shkodra. With a long career as a researcher, lecturer and specialist at the Institute of Cultural Monuments, Acad. Riza has made a prominent contribution to the documentation, protection and promotion of Albanian material heritage.

Among his most important works are “The City-Museum of Gjirokastra” (1980), a fundamental study on the architectural heritage of Gjirokastra, its characteristic dwellings and its values ​​as a museum city, as well as “Albanian Quartered Dwellings” (2018), a monograph published by the Academy of Sciences, which deals with the typology of Albanian folk quartered dwellings and their architectural values.

Academician Riza was the author of 16 monographs, five of them co-authored, as well as 134 scientific articles published in specialized journals, including "Studia Albanica", "Arkitektura populerë Shqiptare" and "Monuments", where he addressed the typologies of popular housing, building structures and the heritage of historical cities.

He was also the editor-in-chief of the magazines "Studia Albanica" and "Monumentet", promoting the publication of studies on Albanian cultural heritage. Academician Riza was the initiator of the Law "On Cultural Heritage" and chair of the working group for the preparation of the dossiers of Gjirokastra and Berat for UNESCO, which contributed to the inclusion of these cities in the World Heritage List.

For his extraordinary contribution to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, Academician Emin Riza was honored with the title of “Honorary Citizen” of Gjirokastra and Berat. He was also an external member of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, an important recognition of his scientific authority throughout the Albanian space.

The Albanian Academy of Sciences and the Permanent Commission on Cultural Heritage express their most sincere condolences to the family, friends, academic community and long-time collaborators of Academician Emin Riza for this great human and scientific loss.

Tributes will be held today at the Alba 2000 funeral agency, near the Madrasa. The funeral ceremony will take place at 4:00 PM, at the Tufina cemetery.

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