Durazzo
Durazzo is the Italian name for Durrës, the main port of Albania. The name comes from the ancient Dyrrachium and was common in English until recent decades. Italy first occupied the city in 1915, during the First World War. Austria-Hungary took it over in 1916, though, and held it until 1918. On October 2, 1918, Allied ships bombarded the city and the Old City was largely destroyed, including the Royal Palace. Italian troops captured Durazzo on October 16, 1918. For a short time after that, it served as the temporary capital of Albania.
Italy stayed involved in Albania after the war. In the 1920s and 1930s, Italian investment led to an economic boom in the city under King Zog, and a modern harbour was completed in 1927. Zog also built a summer palace on a hill near the old city, the Royal Villa of Durrës. As a result, Durazzo was closely tied to Italy well before the second occupation began.
On April 7, 1939, Italy made its first landings at Durazzo and then occupied Albania. The city was defended fiercely by Mujo Ulqinaku. Italy annexed Albania to the Kingdom of Italy, and the city went by the name Durazzo again. It later served as the launch point for the Italian invasion of Greece. The annexation ended in 1943, when Nazi Germany occupied the city. German forces left in autumn 1944, after blowing up the port installations.
Note
These stamps are all Italian stamps depicting the King, Vittorio Emanuele III. They’re overprinted with the city’s name Durazzo and the cost in the local currency, the para of the Ottoman Empire.
Contains 9 spots: own 0 – 0 unused, 0 used.
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Leoni |
10p (feb 1909) |
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2 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Leoni |
20p (feb 1909) |
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3 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
30p (feb 1909) |
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4 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
1P (feb 1909) |
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5 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
2P (feb 1909) |
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6 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Cellini |
4P (feb 1909) |
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7 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Cellini |
20P (feb 1909) |
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8 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Cellini |
40P (jan 1911) |
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9 |
Vittorio Emanuele III - Michetti |
20c (jan 1916) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
