Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al/ Rare and unknown photos of the famous Koliqi family originating from Shiroka of Shkodra are published, where even today live some of the descendants of that famous tribe where their ancestors were engaged in trade with Venice, Montenegro, etc., and their suckers were educated and graduated from the most prestigious universities in Europe. From Roza, one of the most emancipated women from Shkodra, where it is said that she took the col Idoleno for the realization of the painting “Sister Tone”, to Dom Mikeli who initially studied at the Polytechnic Faculty of Milan, his brother, Ernesti, with parents, Shan and Age ( of Cuk Simon), as well as their brothers and sisters, Leci, Guljelmi, Margerita, Viktori and Terezina….
Gjon Tonin Koliqi, one of the suckers of the famous Koliqi tribe originating from the picturesque village by the lake of Shkodra, Memorie.al publishes some rare and completely unknown photos of his family, or more precisely a branch of that famous tribe from from where come two well-known personalities, such as Ernest Koliqi, researcher, publicist, poet, prose writer, writer, etc., considered a personality of Albanian literature, who in the period of fascist occupation of the country also served as Minister of Education, and his brother, Dom Mikel Koliqi, the Catholic clergyman who during the communist regime of Enver Hoxha spent almost his entire life in political prisons and after the 1990s returned to his religious activity, being appointed Cardinal in 1994. the first Albanian by Pope John Paul II himself.
The Koliqi family is said to have settled in the village of Shiroka in Shkodra around the beginning of the 1700s and its main activity was fishing, but also trade with Montenegro, Venice, etc., which made that family economically stronger by the end of the century. of the XVIII and the beginning of the XIX century, to build several houses in the center of the city of Shkodra, which are still today as the property of their heirs with the surname Koliqi.
The photos published by Gjon Tonin Koliqi have been shot over the years by the famous Marubi and they are mainly part of his family archive (Gjon Tonin Koliqi), as well as another part recently taken from the archive of Fototeka Marubi in the city of Shkodra.
In the main photo (which shows many members of the Koliqi family), which is thought to have been made only a short time after the famous Marubs had opened their studio, in the center appears Pjetër Koliqi, one of the first of this family, (Tonin’s grandfather , the father of Gjon Koliqi), who, although of the Catholic faith, in the photo came out with the holiday of Turkey, which in a way at that time showed the coexistence between the three religions in the city of Shkodra. Together with Pjetër Koliqi, the other members of this family posed in turn.
The photo in question seems to be a composition (as we often encounter with other photos of Shkodra families, Daragjati, Suma, Pistulli, Krroqi, Çoba, etc.), as the third generation of the Koliqi family is sitting in a chair, standing above them are the second generation and sitting small children. What can be noticed in this photo, is the dress of the members of the Koliqi family, where some are in popular Shkodra citizens’ clothes, mainly older women, and the rest with stylish dresses with a suit, collar or bow tie, which in a in a way it also shows the good economic situation of this family.
Almost the same with this photo is the one where the family of Dom Mikel Koliqi, the first Albanian Cardinal after the fall of the communist regime, came out, where in the center are the parents, Shani and Ageja (daughter of Cuk Simon), while next to them, their sons and daughters, such as Ernest Koliqi, and other brothers and sisters, Leci, Guljelmi, Margerita, Viktori and Terezina. Dom Mikeli, who sits next to his brother Ernest and on the other side of his mother, Ages, is also distinguished by his veladon dress as a Catholic priest.
A rare photo is the one where Mikel Koliqi appeared, dressed as “alla-frënga” which belongs to the period of the ’20s when he after finishing a technical school in Bari, Italy, then continued his studies at the Polytechnic Faculty in Milan, who later discontinued it to devote himself to the study of Theology and Philosophy at the papnuer seminary in Milan.
Also a completely unknown photo is that of Dom Mikeli’s brother, Ernest, writer, researcher, publicist, poet, prose writer, etc., who during the fascist occupation of Albania also served as Minister of Education, a photo which is thought to belongs to the period of his youth, when he was studying at the College of Jesus Arici in Brescia.
Another photo that is very interesting is that of Roza (Rozalina) Koliqi, considered one of the most emancipated Albanian women in the period of the Zog Monarchy, a photo which is said to have been taken by the famous Kol Idromeno, when he tabllonë/Memorie.al
