The home of Albania's late communist dictator is now hosting what he despised most: Free thinkers

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — In a historical twist, the home of Albania’s late communist dictator Enver Hoxha is hosting international artists fascinated by the long-ruling leader’s library, the country’s history of isolation and its unique traditions.

The metamorphosis of Villa 31 — where the Hoxha family lived for decades until his regime was toppled in 1990, five years after his death — encapsulates Albania’s radical transformation from one of the world’s most hermetic countries into the modern society it is today.

The sprawling, 4,000 square meter (43,000 square foot) house with more than 100 rooms, built in the 1970s in the capital of Tirana, was a heavily guarded place of power where Hoxha both ruled and feared his own people. Albania's ruler was known for his paranoid behavior and saw enemies everywhere.

Now surrounded by high-rises, trendy bars, posh restaurants and pulsating nightclubs, the villa itself has undergone a transformation, complete with a fresh coat of paint — though the ostentatious downstairs hall with marble floors is still there.

Gone are the heavy curtains that blocked sunlight. Long silent walls will from now on echo with poetry readings, experimental theater, film screenings and contemporary art exhibits. The rooms offer workshops and shared areas for 23 artists from 15 countries.

The villa's rebirth stems from a pledge by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in October 2023 to turn it into an artists’ center — “something that would make Enver Hoxha roll in his grave.”

Closed off to the public until now, the villa has welcomed artists, residing there since late January, and hopes to soon see tourists too.

“This is what I believe is the power of art, to deal with a past and a painful past, like the one that this villa symbolizes,” said Nita Deda, manager of Art Explora, a French-based foundation that spearheaded the building's transformation.

Inside the studios that replaced once labyrinthine apartments, visiting artists have the freedom to “express everything, from fury to anger, to betrayal, to ambivalence, to the absurd ... exactly his (Hoxha's) worst nightmare,” said Ukrainian artist Stanislava Pinchuk.

Pinchuk, 37, says she is happy to come to Albania, the “last puzzle piece” of former communist countries, though she finds it difficult to sleep at the villa.

She is baffled by Hoxha's library, which holds books by his communist idols — Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin — to books about the French Revolution and students’ protests in the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary in the 1950s and 1960s. There are also books on sex, which ordinary Albanians were banned from reading at the time.

The library was a testament to “an ideology refusing to die," Pinchuk said.

Reading “Kanun,” a book on Albanian customs, Italian artist Genny Petrotta, 34, marveled at the practice of sworn virgins — a centuries-old tradition in which women declared themselves to be men so they could enjoy the same rights within the society that men enjoyed, though they did not considering themselves transgender.

“It’s a story about power," Petrotta said, adding that she was “impressed by the analytical way” the book described the phenomenon.

The villa’s underground tunnels, built as shelters in case of an attack, also fascinated the visiting artists. Their exhibit will open in April, and Albanians, no longer fearful of the late dictator, will be able to view the art.

Under Hoxha's repressive regime, some 100,000 Albanians were imprisoned, sent to internment camps or executed during the 46 years of his repressive regime.

Albania today has seen its economy and society develop rapidly, and 10 million tourists visited the country last year.

Some, however, disagree with Villa 31's transformation, and say it should have stayed untouched, a history lesson for the tourists and generations born long after Hoxha's regime collapsed.

Xhevdet Lani, a taxi driver and an older resident of Tirana, said the villa is “historic evidence of what the dictatorship once was.”

“It would have been better if it had remained for generations so that our children and grandchildren could learn from it,” he said.

Stanislava Pinchuk from Ukraine, works on a project in Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Nita Deda, manager of Art Explora works at her computer at Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An exterior view showing Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Nita Deda, manager of Art Explora, poses for a photo in Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

An interior view of Villa 31 where the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, once a symbol of totalitarian rule used to live, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conn Smythe favorite Mitch Marner had a natural hat trick in the second period to help the Vegas Golden Knights build a four-goal lead over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The 4-0 advantage didn't last, with Carolina cutting it 4-3 midway through the third.

Tomas Hertl broke a scoreless tie midway through the second, after Vegas opened the stanza by having two goals overturned by challenges.

Marner’s first goal came when he gathered a loose puck near the boards and fired a backhander into the crease, where Carolina defenseman Sean Walker accidentally deflected the puck past Frederik Andersen.

Less than four minutes later, Marner gracefully deked around Andersen and slipped the puck into the net with relative ease to make it 3-0.

Then, with a little more than three minutes left in the period, the 10-year veteran blasted a shot from the right circle, triggering throngs of hats being thrown on the ice. It was the fastest natural hat trick in Stanley Cup history at 6:10.

“I can’t do it by myself, that’s for sure,” Marner said during a television interview between periods. “All five guys have been on a great page. I’ve liked our line’s play for the last month.”

Marner also assisted on Hertl’s goal. His four points are tied for the most in a single period since 1919.

Marner’s 28 points are the most by any player in NHL history in his first postseason with a new team

The 29-year-old now has 10 goals in 19 playoff games with the Golden Knights. He had 13 goals in 70 playoff games during his nine years with Toronto.

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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, left, celebrates his goal as Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, right, skates behind during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, right, scores on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner celebrates his goal with defenseman Shea Theodore, an own goal by the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, right, stops a shot by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)