Phoenice

The ancient city of Phoenice was among the wealthiest cities in Epirus, a historical region now shared by Greece and Albania. Today, it is an archaeological park situated around ten kilometres from Sarandë, atop a hill overlooking the settlement of Finiq. A perfect destination for a cultural trip from the Albanian Riviera.

The city was the political centre of the Chaonians, one of the three major Greek tribes in ancient Epirus. In the 5th century BC, an acropolis was erected. Fortifications were expanded a century later as part of the defensive strategy of Pyrrhus, leader of united Epirus. In 205 BC, a peace treaty was signed in Phoenice that ended the First Macedonian War, fought between Macedonians and Romans.

In the Byzantine era, the city was a see of a bishopric and hosted a number of religious buildings including a baptistery and a basilica during the 5th and 6th centuries. However, the city vanished after the 6th century and the urban centre of the area moved to nearby Mesopotam.

The first excavations here were carried out in the 1920s by the leading Italian archaeologist Luigi Ugolini, who also worked in not-too-distant Butrint during the same period. A theatre, which is the best-preserved structure in Phoenice, was uncovered in 2006.

The strategic location on top of the ridge was noticed also by the communist military planners, who built a series of concrete bunkers on the site of the former ancient city. You will thus witness a rather bizarre coexistence of ancient and quite recent history.

The site is located near the village of Finiq on a hill that rises from the vast plain east of Sarandë. The place is poorly accessible by public transport, as the minibus to Finiq from Sarandë (leaves around midday) doesn’t return until the next morning. So you must have a car or take a taxi. In high season, there is a fee of 200 leks to enter.

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