Monuments built to commemorate love are some of the most stunning in the world. India’s mesmerizing Taj Mahal being one of the most famous examples! In Albania, you can find not only a monument, but the ruins of an entire city dedicated to the love of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. This ancient king founded Antigonea in 295 B.C., and named it in honour of his first beloved wife.
Antigonea is the site that illustrates the architecture of the Hellenistic era. The city was founded in the early III century B.C.E., by Pyrrhus of Epirus, ruler of Epirus, who named it after his wife Antigonea. The city itself covers a surface of 45 ha while the whole archaeological complex spans over a total of some 90 ha. The city had a complex road network within its walls, still visible, designed in the then-popular Hippodamian style.
The easiest route into the archaeological site of Antigonea is the road from Gjirokastër to Saraqinishtë, a distance of only some 14 kilometers (8.7 miles). The most important and astonishing site of the Drino valley served as a city for only just more than a century since it was destroyed completely by the Romans in 168 B.C.E.
