Aleksandër Albani, cardinal, art collector, was born in Urbino, Italy. Aleksandër Albani is one of the members of the Albani family, settled in Italy in the 17th century. According to some sources, the ancestors of the Albani family were registered in Urbino by Kel Laci, who emigrated from Northern Albania in 1664. Then they settled in Rome with the surname Albani and became one of the most famous families of the time. From this came Pope Clement XI and seven cardinals, the most famous of whom, Aleksandër Albani, who also built the Museum Villa, which later took the name of the family (Villa “Albani”). Aleksandër Albani is known as one of the first in Italy and Europe to create a museum with precious collections from antiquity and contemporary art. Many of the works of Villa “Albani” have been distributed in some of the most famous museums in Italy and the world (in the Capitol, in the Louvre, in Windsor Castle in England, in the USA). The medals collected by him form the core of the collection in the Vatican museum. He passed away in Rome, in 1779. (In the photo: View of Villa “Albani”.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 44.
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Albani
Graphic processing: AHCF
