Vuno

Vuno sits on the slope above Jale beach on the Albanian Riviera, a village of stone houses stacked on the hillside with narrow cobbled lanes running between them, several small churches including one with surviving frescoes, and a school that has been used for summer arts residencies and workshops. Like the other Riviera villages it lost most of its population to emigration in the 1990s and much of it stood empty, and it is now partly reoccupied and partly restored, with guesthouses and a few places to eat. The lanes are too narrow for cars and everything is done on foot. The view runs down over the coast, and paths continue up into the Ceraunian mountains behind for walkers.

History

In 1628 the Catholic missionary Neophytos Rodinos founded a school in Vuno, an Albanian school followed in 1632, and in 1720 Vuno joined Himarë, Palasë, Ilias, Pilur and Qeparo in refusing to submit to the Pasha of Delvinë; the Italian missionary Giuseppe Schirò wrote in 1722 that the village was inhabited by Albanians. A Greek school had 80 pupils in 1873, and by 1898-1899 there were three, a primary, a secondary and a girls' school, paid for by benefactors and emigrants from Vuno and the villages around, until they closed in 1913. In the First Balkan War Greek forces took the village on 6 November 1912, and the region stayed under Greek control until the end of the Balkan Wars before passing to the Albanian state (Wikipedia, Vuno).

Highlights

• Stone houses stacked on the slope - the village on its hillside.
• Narrow cobbled lanes - too tight for vehicles, walked throughout.
• Small churches with frescoes - the older religious buildings.
• Paths into the Ceraunians - walking routes up behind the village.

When to go

April to October. Two hours. Mornings and evenings are cooler for the lanes. Summer brings visitors up from the beach below. Out of season it is very quiet.

Good to know

Many houses remain derelict and the village is half-empty outside summer. There is little in the way of facilities. The lanes are steep and cobbled. It is a residential place, not an attraction, and should be walked quietly.

Nearby

Jale beach is below; Dhermi and Himara lie either side.

Key facts