Academician Emin Riza, a distinguished figure of Albanian cultural heritage, passes away

Academician Emin Riza, one of the most important Albanian scholars in the field of traditional architecture and cultural heritage, has passed away at the age of 89.

Academician Riza was born on July 3, 1937, in Shkodër and throughout his professional career dedicated his life to documenting, studying, and protecting the values of Albanian material heritage.

He worked for many years as a researcher, lecturer, and specialist at the Institute of Cultural Monuments, leaving an extraordinary contribution to the preservation of historical centers and traditional Albanian houses. Among his most well-known works are “The Museum City of Gjirokastër” (1980), a fundamental study on the architectural and historical values of this city, and “Albanian Houses with Qoshk” (2018), a monograph published by the Academy of Sciences that deals with the typology and features of traditional Albanian folk dwellings.

During his scientific activity, Emin Riza published 16 monographs, some of them in collaboration with other scholars, as well as over 130 scientific articles in specialized journals, where he addressed folk architecture, traditional structures, and Albanian historical cities.

He was also the editor-in-chief of the scientific journals “Studia Albanica” and “Monumentet”, playing an important role in the development of studies on national cultural heritage.

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Academician Emin Riza, one of the most renowned Albanian scholars in the field of cultural heritage and traditional architecture, has passed away at the age of 89.

He was born on July 3, 1937, in Shkodër. With a long career as a researcher, lecturer, and specialist at the Institute of Cultural Monuments, Acad. Riza made a distinguished contribution to the documentation, protection, and promotion of Albanian material heritage.

Among his most important works are “The Museum City of Gjirokastër” (1980), a fundamental study on the built heritage of Gjirokastër, its characteristic houses, and its values as a museum city, as well as “Albanian Houses with Qoshk” (2018), a monograph published by the Academy of Sciences that addresses the typology of traditional Albanian folk houses with qoshk and their architectural values.

Academician Riza was the author of 16 monographs, five of them co-authored, as well as 134 scientific articles published in specialized journals, including “Studia Albanica”, “Albanian Folk Architecture”, and “Monumentet”, where he dealt with the typologies of folk houses, building structures, and the heritage of historical cities.

He was also the editor-in-chief of the journals “Studia Albanica” and “Monumentet”, encouraging the publication of studies on Albanian cultural heritage. Academician Riza was the initiator of the Law “On Cultural Heritage” and the chair of the working group for the preparation of the dossiers of Gjirokastër and Berat for UNESCO, which contributed to the inclusion of these cities on the World Heritage List. For his extraordinary contribution to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, Academician Emin Riza was honored with the title “Honorary Citizen” of Gjirokastër and of Berat. He was also an external member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, a significant recognition of his scientific authority throughout the Albanian space.

The Academy of Sciences of Albania and the Permanent Commission of Cultural Heritage express their most sincere condolences to the family, friends, academic community, and long-time collaborators of Academician Emin Riza for this great human and scientific loss.

The tributes will be held today at the premises of the funeral agency Alba 2000, near the Medrese. The farewell ceremony to the final resting place will take place at 16:00, at the Tufina cemetery.