Apollonia

In 44 BC an 18-year-old named Octavian was studying military strategy on this Albanian hilltop when news arrived: Julius Caesar had been stabbed 23 times in Rome, and Caesar's will had just made Octavian the heir to the Republic. Everyone told him to stay put. He didn't. He walked down this hill, crossed the Adriatic, and eventually became Augustus — the first Roman Emperor. The four Corinthian columns still standing at Apollonia's agora were already ancient when he made that decision. Come see what that looks like, at €5.50 entry.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Find the Four Columns That Outlasted Rome Itself History · Price: low

   The Bouleuterion of Apollonia — four Corinthian columns still standing where 160 city councillors governed one of the Adriatic's greatest cities. This is the most photographed structure in Albania's finest ancient site.

   Where: At the northwest edge of the agora, Apollonia Archaeological Park, Fier County. Entry 600 Lek (~€5.50) for adults, 180 Lek under-18. Opens 9am daily. From Fier city, take a taxi or bus to the village of Pojan (~8 km), then follow signs on foot — 20-minute walk from Pojan centre. There is a large parking meadow at the entrance.

   What: The Bouleuterion — Apollonia's council chamber, built 2nd century AD. The surviving facade is four Corinthian columns holding a triangular pediment. Inside, 160 city councillors held official meetings. The Romans called it the Agonothetes Monument after the magistrates who organised public holidays. Facing it across the NW agora, the Odeon (300-seat theatre) looks back. Two buildings, one agora, the entire apparatus of Roman civic life suspended between them. Here's what nobody mentions: Julius Caesar himself chose Apollonia as his military base when he crossed the Adriatic on 4 January 48 BC — dead of winter, catching Pompey completely off-guard. He seized Apollonia first, secured supply stores, then marched on Dyrrachium. This city was Caesar's jumping-off point for the civil war that remade the world. The four columns that still stand were already ancient then.

   How: Get the map at the entrance — it shows the full site layout. Walk northwest toward the highest concentration of standing columns. When you reach the Bouleuterion, stand with your back to the columns and face south across the agora. The Odeon is directly opposite. You are standing in the administrative heart of a city that once had over 100,000 inhabitants. Count the 16 rows of Odeon seating from where you stand. In summer arrive before 10am or after 4pm — the ruins are exposed hilltop and midday is fierce.

   Backup: Guided tours run 3x daily in English and Italian — the guides are excellent and will bring the Caesar story to life with local detail not in any guidebook.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Stand Where an 18-Year-Old Decided to Become Rome History · Free

   On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times in Rome. His nephew and heir, Gaius Octavius — age 18 — was HERE, in Apollonia, studying. What he decided next, on this hilltop, created the Roman Empire.

   Where: The upper agora and acropolis area of Apollonia — the hilltop where the Macedonian legions were encamped and where Octavian received the news. Walk uphill from the Bouleuterion toward the acropolis (north, highest ground in the park). No extra admission required — within the 600 Lek site entry.

   What: Julius Caesar had sent his 18-year-old grandnephew Octavian to Apollonia in 45 BC with two best friends — Marcus Agrippa and Gaius Maecenas — to study military strategy and rhetoric with the Macedonian legions. The plan: Octavian was being prepared for Caesar's upcoming Parthian campaign. He was receiving the finest military education in the Roman world, right here. Then on March 15, 44 BC, the news arrived: Caesar was dead, stabbed in the Theatre of Pompey. Simultaneously, a second message: Caesar's will had adopted Octavian as his son and named him sole heir — making him, overnight, one of the wealthiest and most politically explosive people in Rome. Everyone told him to stay put. His mother, his stepfather Marcius Philippus, his advisors. Suetonius records that Octavian was briefly tempted to shelter under the protection of the legions nearby. But Marcus Agrippa's advice won: go to Rome immediately. Claim the inheritance. Eighteen years old, against everyone's counsel, Octavian walked down this hill, crossed the Adriatic to Brundisium, and set in motion 44 years of reign as Augustus — the first Roman Emperor.

   How: Climb to the acropolis and look west. On a clear day you can see toward the Adriatic coast, 12 km away — the sea Octavian crossed. Say out loud what you think he felt: the terror of it, or the certainty. Ask yourself: would you have stayed? The fact that you're standing here means he didn't.

   Backup: The site receives far fewer visitors than comparable sites in Greece or Italy — on a weekday morning, you may have the acropolis entirely to yourself. If the full walk feels long, the Bouleuterion area alone is enough — the story lives in the whole hilltop, not one spot.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Enter the Monastery Built from a Stolen Theatre History · Free

   In 1250 AD, Byzantine monks built a church on top of the Roman ruins — using stones stolen from Apollonia's own ancient theatre for the walls. Inside hangs a fresco that art historians call unique in all of Byzantine art.

   Where: The Monastery of St. Mary, within Apollonia Archaeological Park. The monastery and its museum (the Archaeological Museum of Apolonia) are included in the 600 Lek entry fee — no separate ticket needed. The building is central to the park grounds, unmissable.

   What: Look at the monastery walls carefully. The lower courses are ancient stone — taken directly from the theatre of Apollonia when monks built the church between 1250–1270 AD. The upper section is medieval brick plastered in red. The building is literally the Roman city eating itself to stay alive. Go inside. Look for the fresco on the west wall — a rare painting of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (reigned 1259–1281), his Empress, and their son Andronikos II, with Michael VIII offering a model of the church to the Virgin Mary. Art historians describe this as 'unique in Byzantine art because it depicts two emperors together.' The painting also has something uncanny about it: the realistic landscape rendering has been described as 'reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance' — and it was painted centuries before that Renaissance existed. The refectory paintings here are considered the most important Byzantine refectory frescoes after those of the monastery on Patmos — the island of Revelation. This is not a footnote. It belongs in the same sentence as the Greek island where John of Patmos wrote the Apocalypse.

   How: The museum inside holds 688 objects including Apollonia's own silver coins (cow-and-calf motif, 229–100 BC), lion sculptures from ancient tombs, and pottery from across the Illyrian/Greek/Roman eras. Budget 45 minutes inside — the coin room alone earns it. The museum reopened in 2011 after a 20-year closure, restored with $140,000 from UNESCO.

   Backup: Even if the museum is temporarily closed (verify hours on arrival at the park entrance), the monastery exterior and its spolia walls are always visible and the story is the same. The monastery opens and closes with the park.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Taste the Wine Albania Has Been Making for 3,000 Years Wine · Price: moderate

   The Illyrians were making wine in this region 3,000 years before you arrived. The indigenous Kallmet grape — full-bodied, black cherry and black pepper, soft round tannins — has been grown in these Albanian hills since Bronze Age antiquity. You owe it a glass.

   Where: After Apollonia, head to Çobo Winery, Rruga e Pashallis, Ura Vajgurore, Berat County (GPS: 40.7781, 19.8583) — ~45 minutes south of Apollonia by car. Alternatively, ask at the restaurant at the top of the Apollonia archaeological site whether they have Albanian wine (specifically Kallmet or Shesh i Zi) — a decent impromptu option if you're short on time.

   What: Çobo Winery was founded in 1998 by brothers Petrit and Muharrem Çobo and specialises in Albania's native varieties: Kallmet, Shesh i Zi, Shesh i Bardhë, Puls, Vlosh. The winery is certified organic and sustainable. Tours run in English, Italian, and Albanian — after the cellar visit you taste with homemade Albanian cheese and local olives. Here's the wine story: Albania's communist era (1944–1991) forced mass production and destroyed quality — every private estate was collectivized, every winemaker working for the state. Then communism fell. From scratch, families like the Çobos rebuilt Albanian viticulture with indigenous varieties nobody else was growing. In 2023, Albania became the 50th member of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Between 2000 and 2016 alone, Albanian grape production jumped 250%. The country drinking Kallmet in Octavian's time is the same country making Kallmet now — the grape survived everything. Kallmet tasting notes: black cherry, black pepper, red plums, red raspberry, cinnamon; soft and round tannins; persistent finish. Pair it with roasted lamb, aged cheese, or the traditional Albanian dish fërgesë (peppers, tomatoes, and gjizë ricotta). The wine you are tasting is described as 'the ambassador of Albanian wines by excellence.' Alternative winery: Kantina Alpeta, 10 km from Berat (GPS: ~41.6665, 19.9504) — named to TIME magazine's World's Greatest Places 2025. They focus on Shesh i Zi, Pules, and Debina varieties; restaurant with wine cellar views.

   How: Both wineries require advance booking for tours (1–2 days ahead; contact via their websites). Alternatively in Tirana or Fier, Kallmet is available by the bottle at most decent restaurants — ask for it by name.

   Backup: In Fier town itself, look for Kallmet by the glass at any restorante. A bottle runs approximately 1,200–1,800 Lek (~€11–17). If Kallmet isn't available, Shesh i Zi is the other great Albanian red — same story, same soils, same 3,000 years.

   Log Memory