For the third consecutive year, we inaugurated another stone in honor of the Righteous of 2026.
The ceremony for the inauguration of the marble stone, on which this year’s names are engraved, took place following a democratic vote held on the ZKM Campus in January of this year.
The Righteous elected for 2026 were the magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who received the highest number of votes in our university campus.
This year, at the ceremony for the inauguration of the stone on which the magistrates’ names are engraved, the following were present: H.E. Mirosław Adamczyk, Apostolic Nuncio in Albania; the Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and all of Albania, Mons. Arjan Dodaj; His Excellency the Metropolitan of Berat, Vlora, and Kanina; Mr. Asti Bakallbashi, Deputy Ambassador of Italy in Tirana; and other invited guests.
The President of the ZKM Foundation and the Apostolic Nuncio, in their messages, highlighted the legacy of sublime sacrifice and justice left to future generations by the magistrates, who fought with extraordinary dedication against the harsh reality of the mafia—the harsh reality of “Cosa Nostra,” which extended its crimes and influence to political, economic, and secret subversive networks.
Because of this uncompromising struggle, they were assassinated; for this reason, today, in the only Garden in Albania and the Balkans dedicated to the Righteous, we decided to engrave the names of Falcone and Borsellino as martyrs in the fight for justice and a better world.
The stone on which their names are engraved was covered with the flag of peace, and the public inauguration was conducted together by the two high-ranking clergy authorities in Albania, Mons. Arjan Dodaj and His Excellency the Metropolitan of Berat, Asti Bakallbashi.
The inauguration of the names of the Righteous on the ZKM Campus is a day of celebration and reflection for all of us.
