The "Illyria" mosaic/ Realization by painter Anastas Kostandini, on the facade of Pogradec municipality

2024-06-11 13:02:00, Qyteti im CNA

Anastas Kostandini, the well-known painter from Pogradec, has created a mosaic on the central facade of the Municipality of Pogradec. The painter titled this mosaic "Illyria", this title contains a 2500-year-old Illyrian history, in Lower Selce. In this area, the tombs of the Illyrian kings are located, while the pafta, which has already been turned into a mosaic, was also found.

Anastas Kostandini, known in Pogradec as "Taso", can be considered as the painter of monumental works, who studied all the works of Mitrush Kuteli, as well as the Illyrian period, starting with the graves of Selca and continuing with the period of Angels.

Anastas Kostandini shows that Pogradec is the city of great archaeological finds, while the painter himself has followed the line of national identity through art in this mosaic.

The "Illyria" mosaic/ Realization by painter Anastas Kostandini, on

Anastas Kostandini, CNA source

"This represents Illyria, which is a great theme of the antiquity of the Albanian nation and such themes are not frequent. Pogradec is a place of great archaeological finds and is known for the tombs of Illyrian kings. The fact that Mitrush Kuteli wrote masterpieces on Illyria is not a coincidence, but it is written on a territory that is one of the epicenters of Illyria. We are in the world of Enkelei, the great Illyrian tribes, and they wrote legendary history in the ancient world. I followed the line of this national identity through art."

The realization of such a mosaic, for the mayor Ilir Xhakolli, is one of the works that the city lacked, while it will give another look to tourism as well. Xhakolli says that they have been preparing for this work of art for almost a year, to realize this mosaic that tells a lot about Albanian history and archaeology.

Ilir Xhakolli, CNA source

"We have been dealing with this work for almost 1 year, with my proposal I asked Taso to leave his mark here, of course Taso accepted. This is also dedicated to Taso's brother, Rako Kostandini, who was the architect who following the works when the town hall was being built, together with Taso we tried to bring an icon of Pogradec, such as the pafta of Selca found from the archaeological excavations there, which has a history in the 4th century BC, which shows the history and antiquity of Pogradec Taso, with his skill, called the mosaic "Illyria" and I thank him for the gift he gave to the municipality and Pogradec."

For Pogradec artist Anastas Kostandini, this is the first mosaic realized for the city of Pogradec, while together with other authors, he has been part of the creation of works in the National Museum in the capital./ CNA TV