Vlora

The city of Vlora, known also as Vlonë, or Valona is located in the southwest of Albania, with a population of 61,300 inhabitants.











It is in front of Karaburuni peninsula and Sazani Island, close to various sandy and rocky beaches and the scenic nearby mountains. Vlora is Albania's second largest port, having regular ferry boat connections with Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi.

The capital of Vlorë District, the city exports petroleum (from the Kuçovë oil field), bitumen, olives, olive oil, and fruit. Industries include tannin extracting, rice milling, olive oil refining, fishing, and the manufacture of cement, soap, and dairy products. The city has a museum, a theater, and technical schools; the medieval Kanine Château is to the southeast. Beaches are nearby, and at the mouth of the bay is the island of Sazan (Italian Saseno), which was used by the Italians as a fortress in both World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945) and by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a submarine base after World War II until 1961.

The region of Vlora is rich in agricultural products, especially in fruits, olives and grapes, and in dairy products.
Vlora has a business administration University, founded in 1994, which replaced the school for Naval Officers. Also students here can study nursery, naval engineering and English language.