Llazar Fundo, prominent figure of Albanian and European thought/ Scientific Symposium held today

2025-05-16 10:46:00, Kulturë CNA

Llazar Fundo, prominent figure of Albanian and European thought/ Scientific

Today , the Scientific Symposium "Llazar (Zai) Fundo - a prominent figure of Albanian and European thought" will be held at the Amphitheater of the "Fan Noli" University in Korça .

The symposium is expected to start at 11:00, where a number of well-known figures such as Gjergji Pendavinji, Irena Nikaj, Elona Çeçe, Eris Rusi, Metin Venxha, Suela Dinellari, Eriseld Kalemaj, Viola Dolani, Denisa Titili are expected to speak about Llazar Fundo.

At the conclusion of the Scientific Symposium, a visit to the photographic exhibition will take place.

Llazar Fundo is a complex figure in Albanian history. A polyglot intellectual with 9 foreign languages, who was born into a merchant family from Voskopoja in Korça, then became a communist in his youth, was shot by communists and left his will before the firing squad: "The communism that we idealized as Christ, surpasses even the devil in its wickedness. I was a communist, but I will never die like that. I could lie to save my life, but I cannot do such a thing. The photos that are in the bag should be given to the mother if she is alive."

These are the words of an intellectual of European caliber. A former member of the Comintern who later denounced and accused Stalin and his crimes.

Exiled to the island of Ventotene as an anti-fascist, he would come into contact with Italian ideologists, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, with whom Fundo would draft the "Ventotene Manifesto", known as the precursor to the Hague Congress and the Schuman Declaration.

They developed a new vision for the creation of a free and united Europe, based on the idea of ??sovereignty, workers' movement, a common currency, etc.

Italian scholars would call the ideas of the Korça-born, Sorbonne-educated lawyer the forerunners of the European Union. Fundo had a long and complex political experience, both in Albania and in Europe./ CNA