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Butrinti, a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site
About 24 km south of Saranda in the far south east of Albania is the ancient site of Butrinti (or Butrint when in a sentence with a preposition), originally a Greek town (Bouthroton), first occupied between the 10th and 8th centuries BCE. It was strategically important and had a theatre, a sanctuary to Asclepius and an agora in the 4th Century BCE. In 228 BC Bouthroton became a Roman protectorate (Buthrotum) and in 44 BC, Caesar was designated a colony by Caesar. Over the years it was expanded as a truly Roman town, was partly destroyed by an earthquake in the 3rd century CE, but rebuilt; it included the grand Triconch Palace, the house of a major local notable. built around 425.
In the early 6th century CE, Buthrotum became the seat of a bishop and a large baptistry, one of the largest such Paleochristian buildings of its type, and a basilica were built. Emperor Justinian strengthened the walls of the city; even so, in 550 it was sacked by the Ostrogoths. It changed hands many times in the Middle Ages, including the Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires, the Angevins of southern Italy and the Venetians. In 1797, Butrinti was ceded by Venice to the French, but was conquered two years later by the local Turkish governor Ali Pasha Tepelena. It was a part of the Ottoman Empire until Albanian independence in 1912. By that time, the site of the original city had been unoccupied for centuries and was surrounded by malarial marshes. In 1992 Butrinti was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
 Butrinti ruins
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 Triconch Palace, Butrinti
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 Butrinti baptistry
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 Roman ruins
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 Byzantine basilica
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 Well of the Nymphs
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 Butrinti Lagoon
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 Cyclopean Wall
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 Lion Gate
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 Lion Gate relief
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 Greek Theatre view
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 Venetian tower
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 Overlooking Lake Butrinti
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 Greek Theatre
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 Near the Greek Theatre
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 Bath houses
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 Ascelpius Temple
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 Greek inscriptions
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 Venetian Fortress
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 Vivari channel
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