Motion for a resolution | Doc. 12401 | 07 October 2010

Byzantine icons in the Museum of Mediaeval Art in Albania

Signatories: Mr Edward O'HARA, United Kingdom ; Mr John AUSTIN, United Kingdom ; Lord Tim BOSWELL, United Kingdom, EDG ; Ms Claire CURTIS-THOMAS, United Kingdom ; Mr Bill ETHERINGTON, United Kingdom ; Ms Blanca FERNÁNDEZ-CAPEL BAÑOS, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Hans FRANKEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Ms Cecilia KEAVENEY, Ireland, ALDE ; Ms Muriel MARLAND-MILITELLO, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Christine McCAFFERTY, United Kingdom ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Maria Manuela de MELO, Portugal, SOC ; Ms Elsa PAPADIMITRIOU, Greece, EPP/CD ; Mr Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Greece, UEL ; Ms Zaruhi POSTANJYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Christos POURGOURIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Fidias SARIKAS, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Latchezar TOSHEV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Konstantinos VRETTOS, Greece, SOC ; Ms Betty WILLIAMS, United Kingdom

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

The National Museum of Mediaeval Art in Albania, located in the city of Korcha, is the repository of some 6 500 Byzantine icons, representing the vast majority of such icons in Albania, apart from those on display in major museums.

This valuable collection is in need of protection and restoration for which the small dedicated staff of the museum is scarcely equipped.

The value and needs of the collection were recognised by a recent five-year collaboration with the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, a former winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize.

The museum in Korcha is now exposed to a proposed reorganisation of cultural services which is liable to weaken further its ability to care for the collection.

The Parliamentary Assembly calls on the Government of Albania to ensure that adequate means will be made available for the Museum of Mediaeval Art in Albania to repair, curate and display its collection of Byzantine icons.