Vlorë
Vlorë (/ˈvlɔːrə/ VLOR-ə,[7][8] Albanian: [ˈvlɔɾə]; Albanian definite form: Vlora[c]) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Coasts. It experiences a Mediterranean climate, which is affected by the Ceraunian Mountains and the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
This article is about the city in Albania. For other uses, see Vlorë.
The coastal area of Vlorë was one of those Illyrian sites that had experienced pre-urban activity beginning from the 11th–10th centuries BCE. The area was colonized by Ancient Greeks. A large fortified port-town that was inhabited from the 6th century BCE to the 2nd century AD is placed, now partially submerged, in Triport, northwest of present-day Vlorë. Substantial port activity in this site occurred from at least the archaic period to the medieval period. It has been suggested that a transfer of the ancient city from the site of Triport to the site of modern Vlorë occurred. The center of the modern city features archaeological remains dating from late antiquity. Aulon, from which the modern city took its name, appears in historial sources starting form the 2nd century CE. It was conquered at different periods throughout history by Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Venetians and Ottomans.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the Albanians gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength for national consciousness, which conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance. Vlorë played an instrumental role in Albanian Independence as an epicenter for the founders of modern Albania, who signed the Declaration of Independence on 28 November 1912 at the Assembly of Vlorë.
Vlorë is one of the most significant cities of southern Albania and the region of Labëria which is traditionally noted for its culture, traditions and folklore. Vlorë is served by the Port of Vlorë, the SH8 highway, and the A2 motorway, collectively representing part of the Adriatic–Ionian Corridor and the Pan-European Corridor VIII.
Name[edit]
The city took its name from Ancient Greek: Αὐλών, romanized: Aulṓn, meaning "channel, glen" that resembles an aulos instrument. It is a typical toponym in the Greek world.[10] The name of the city was first recorded in the 2nd century AD, by two Ancient Greek authors, Lucian and Ptolemy, the latter calling it "town and sea-port", which confirms that it was founded much earlier. However, Aulon has not been mentioned by earlier Ancient Greek and Roman authors, who on the other hand recorded the nearby town and seaport of Oricum. But in later sources Oricum is less encountered, while the toponym Aulon is more frequently mentioned.[11]
Vlorë developed from the ancient Aulon-a through the evolution of the phonetic system of the Albanian language with the rhotacism Vlonë > Vlorë,[12][11] which is a pre-Slavic phenomenon in Albanian. The intervocalic /n/ has regularly evolved to /r/ in Tosk Albanian, while the initial /v/ has evolved from unstressed /u/ after the disappearance of the initial unstressed /a/. The evolution /u/ > /v/ should be relatively ancient, preventing the evolution of the following intervocalic /l/ to /lː/. In Geg Albanian the toponym is pronounced Vlonë, indicating that it has been in use among northern Albanians before the appearance of rhotacism in Tosk Albanian.[11] Also the accent pattern of the name observes Albanian accent rules.[13] The name itself of the inhabitants (sing. vlonjat, pl. vlonjatë) has not undergone the rhotacism affecting the toponym (if it had, it would look something like vlorat or vlorjat).
The medieval and modern Greek name is Avlónas (Αυλώνας Aulṓnas [avˈlonas], accusative Αυλώνα Aulṓna [avˈlona]), and is the source of the Latin Aulona, the Italian Valona (also used in other languages) and of the obsolete English Avlona.[14][15] During the Ottoman era the city of Vlorë was known in Turkish as Avlonya.[16] In Medieval Latin sources and in Old Italian records it is mentioned with the forms Avalona, Avelona, Lavalona, Lavellona; and in Old Serbian sources as Avlona or Vavlona, the latter containing the Slavic preposition v "in".[11] In Aromanian, the city is known as Avlona.[17]
Vlorë is twinned with:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the : Vailhé, Siméon (1912). "Valona". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15.
