In the southernmost part of Albania, across the Ionian Sea from Corfu, is the ancient city of Butrint. The historic ruins date back over 3,000 years. Not surprisingly, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Romans took over from the Greeks in about 200 BC, and in 48 BC, Julius Caesar gave it to his troops who had defeated the army of his rival, Pompey. It has an amphitheatre, an aqueduct, a forum and baths.
The Venetians occupied the city and built a fort to protect it (unsuccessfully) from the Ottomans in the early 18th century. By WW1, it was deserted and ruined, but an Italian archeologist Luigi Ugolini started excavations in the 1920s during Italian rule.





