The death of a prince in Tepelena

2026-03-20 22:45:00, Opinione Auron Tare

To get away from the daily political noise and return to history, I am recounting an event of historical interest, the death of a Prince in Tepelena.

On March 19, 1941, on Mount Trebeshinë, in the midst of an epic battle still referred to in military manuals as the Battle of Quota 731, the Italian prince Giorgio di Borbone-Parma was killed, at the age of 41.

An officer of the Royal Italian Army and an aristocrat, he had participated in several of Fascist Italy's military campaigns, particularly in Ethiopia and Libya.

A company commander with the rank of captain in one of the most famous fascist special units, "Arditi", the prince landed in Durrës and was stationed in the Tepelena camp.

Where the Tepelena stadium is located today, the 51st Infantry Division "Siena" was located, where the unit he led had its base.
During the winter of 1940–1941, Italian forces were stuck on the front line along the Vjosa River. Even Benito Mussolini's visit to the front failed to motivate the troops enough to push the Greeks back.

On March 9, 1941, Italian forces launched a major offensive along the front to take the strategic heights held by the Greeks in the Trebeshinë area, where the Greek army threatened all Italian troops stationed along the Vjosa.

According to the recollections of the participants, Quota 731 was bombed for days so heavily that the surrounding landscape was transformed. The special “blackshirt” units and the Ardits launched repeated attacks to drive the Greeks from this height.

It was here that the unit's commander, Prince Giorgio Borbone-Parma, was killed by a bullet to the head, during hand-to-hand fighting near the Greek trenches. The battle appears to have been extremely fierce, and the surrounding area was littered with the bodies of slain Italian soldiers.

With the entry of elite German troops into Greece in April 1941 (German Invasion of Greece), the Greek army quickly retreated, abandoning its positions.

The death of a prince in Tepelena

The Trebeshina peak, known as Quota 731, was declared a sacred area by the Kingdom of Italy in honor of the fallen soldiers. In the summer of 1941, a large monument was erected to commemorate them. Among the graves was the simple tomb of Prince Bourbon-Parma.

With the establishment of the communist regime in Albania and the subsequent return of the remains of Italian soldiers to Italy, it is very likely that the prince's body may have been returned. From my modest research I have not found any information about what happened to the remains of Prince Bourbone-Parma. Perhaps they may still be there at Quota 731. Meanwhile, the Italian Monument, like many others erected for the Italo-Greek war, was destroyed during the communist period.

The event was gradually forgotten and, apart from associations like the "Alpini" veterans' association that occasionally visits the area to honor the fallen, it is rarely remembered today.

A few years ago, I myself climbed to Quota 731 and found no trace of the monument. Preserving these sites would have great historical value. In addition to memory, the Italo-Greek clashes in this area could constitute an important opportunity for cultural tourism.

About the Bourbon-Parma family

The House of Bourbon-Parma is an Italian branch of the Spanish royal family. Its members have ruled as Kings of Etruria and Dukes of Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla and Lucca.
The family is descended from the French Capetian dynasty in the male line. The name "Bourbon-Parma" combines the family name (Bourbon) with the title of Duke of Parma.

Today, this family is related to the family of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and its members hold the title of Prince/Princess with the predicate of Royal Highness.