The area around the city of Shkodër, in northwestern Albania, has been inhabited since antiquity. The first fortification on the hill overlooking the town was constructed by Illyrian tribes as early as the 9th-century BCE. Since then, the area has been conquered by many different peoples and countries. The fort was taken by the Romans in a battle in 168 BCE and later passed down to the Byzantine Empire. After some centuries of local rule, the Venetians took the area and rebuilt the ruined fortress along with a Catholic church. The…
