Albanian Color Palette
- TALIA BERGER SPIVAK
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
We have been here for two and a half months now. We settled in a new and modern building in the heart of Tirana, in a vibrant area that always keeps us in the center of things. Since we arrived, we take advantage of the weekends on Saturday and Sunday whenever possible to go out and explore. Albania offers diverse nature with a special combination of formidable mountain ranges, giant canyons, lively turquoise rivers, and pristine beaches. Out of all this beauty, the thing that caught my eye the most is the sunsets here, what I call an Albanian color palette.
It does not matter where we watch it from. Whether we are sitting on the balcony of our city apartment, sitting on the roof of a trendy restaurant, looking from a crosswalk toward the center of Tirana, resting at a resort in Vlore, or stopping at a viewpoint on the way back from the village of Theth. Every evening the sky is painted and creates the most colorful and beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.
I tried to understand what makes the sunsets here so picturesque and discovered that the secret lies in a combination of a few factors. There is a unique geographical location here that dramatically brings high mountains and the sea together. Along the Albanian Riviera, there are steep mountains that plunge directly into the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, creating special light and shadow effects on the water.
In addition, the pristine nature is free of air pollution and heavy industry in many areas. This clean air allows the vivid red, orange, and purple colors to stay in the sky and deepen during twilight.
As a graphic designer with 30 years of experience, my eye is used to examining everything through shades. Color is something that simply makes me happy. When I stand in front of this sky and see the shades changing, it makes me smile and appreciate anew every single day a perfect and natural creation that is an Albanian color palette.
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