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Monday, November 12, 2012

Vuno is a village in Coastal Albania, located a few kilometres north to the town of Himarë.

Vuno

www.himara.gov.al 

Vuno (GreekΒουνό) is a village in the Albanian Riviera. It is located in the municipality of Himarë, in the District of VlorëAlbania, along the road between Himarë and Dhërmi. The village is known for its many World War II heroes.

Name

 It is said that because of the village's situation on the hills, which ascend to about 300 metres (980 ft), the village's name derives from the Greek word Vouno, meaning "mountain".[1]

[edit]History


The Greek School of Vuno in 1909
The village has many churches, but they are not operational as currently there are no priests in the village.[2] A church that can be found in the Jali beach dates back to the 14th century and has a Venetian architecture.[2] Two other churches, dedicated respectively to St. Spyridon's Church, Vuno (1778) and to Saint Mary (1783) are still relatively well preserved.[2] Local legend holds that the inhabitants of the village hail from the city of Shkodër and moved to Vuno, where they built the church of Saint Mary. The church is still well preserved at a salient point of the village, called Scutara.[2] This church used to be a catholic one but subsequently it was converted into an Eastern Orthodox one.[2]
 The village gave many partisans to the National Liberation Army, during World War II. Four of them were posthumously awarded with the People's Hero of Albania decoration. The most well known of them is Zaho Koka.[2]

[edit]Attractions

The beaches of Vuno together with the ones in Himarë represent the main tourist attraction of the municipality during the summer months.[3] Jaliskari beach, between Vuno and Dhërmi, has became a well-known summer resort attracting tourists all over the world.[1]

[edit]Language

The inhabitants of Vuno use both Albanian and Greek, as in many villages of the region, although in the day-to-day language, mainly Albanian is used[4] The Albanian local dialect is a southern Tosk one, more precisely a Labërisht sub-dialect.[5] Labërisht itself is composed of non-unical language groups.[6]

[edit]Vuno in literature
The Albanian writer of Arbëreshë origin, Jeronim de Rada has placed the events of his Songs of Milosao (AlbanianKëngët e Milosaos) in Vuno. The songs were also published under the Italian name, Poesie albanesi del secolo XV. Canti di Milosao, figlio del despota di Scutari (English: Albanian poetry of the 15th century. Songs of Milosao, son of the Despot from Shkodër).[citation needed]

[edit]Notable people

[edit] References

  1. a b Gregorič p. 46
  2. a b c d e f g h Dede, Alqiviadh (15 shtator 2009). "Bregu i detit – Vunoi dhe Jali si perlat e tij" (in Albanian). Gazeta Shqip. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  3. ^ Gregorič p. 45
  4. ^ Gregorič, Nataša. "Contested Spaces and Negotiated Identities in Dhermi/Drimades of Himare/Himara area, Southern Albania" (PDF). University of Nova Gorica. p. 63. Retrieved 2010-08-15. "In their day-to-day conversations locals of Dhermi, Palase, and Himara mainly use a Greek dialect and partly a southern Albanian (Tosk) dialect, while the locals of Ilias, Vuno, Qeparo, Kudhes, and Pilur mainly speak the Albanian tosk dialect"
  5. ^ Gjinari, Jorgji (1989) (in Albanian). Dialektet e gjuhës shqipe. Academy of Sciences of Albania, Institute of Linguistics. p. 57.
  6. ^ Totoni, M (1971) (in Albanian). Dialektologjia shqiptare I, Vëzhgime rreth të folmeve të Kurveleshit (English: Albanian dialectology I, Observations on the Language of Kurvelesh). p. 85.

[edit]Sources

 Get in

You can take a bus from Tirana to Sarandë but since it departs early in the morning, you may try getting first to the town of Vlorëand then taking a bus to Himarë. In either case, just ask the driver to stop in Vuno

Get around

The most reliable way to get around (ie. to nearby Himarë or to the beach) is hitchhiking. Basically, any car with available seats and heading for your direction will take you

Sleep

Vuno is famous for its school-hostel Shkolla - a magnet for all passing-by backpackers. It is run by a local NGO, performing renovation of the area. It is dorms only, but quite budget oriented with the daily contribution set at €7 (or 800 lek). For details you can contact Mr. Ilir Hysa - phone no. +355 683 133 451.

[edit][add listing]Do

You can spend time at the marvellous beaches, even partying there at night. Other than this, it is a great place to wander about this pure area, encountering stocks of various domestic animals.

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