Helena and Andrea, a tragic love

“Culture in 1 minute” / Episode 11

The king of Durrës in the 14th century was Robert Anzhu. As a means of extending control as far as Greece, he saw the marriage of his daughter, Helena, to the prince of Morea. Despite the fact that she was against this relationship, she was forced to leave for her future husband.

A strong storm forced the ship to anchor in Durres for a few days and forever changed Helen’s fate. The mayor of Durrës, Andrea Topia, fell in love with her at first sight and she decided to stay with Andrea until death separated them.

King Robert’s attempts to persuade Helen to return to Naples were in vain, so much so that he retaliated against the couple by separating them only by killing the two. However the love of the couple gave birth to a son, Karl Topia, who would later become a nobleman and ruler of a large part of Arberia.

For more follow the video posted on the top.

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Producer and narrator: Geri Emiri
Historical information: Dorian Hatibi
Video-Production: Arlind Veshti

This video was developed with the support of the “Media for All” project, funded by the UK Government. The views and opinions expressed on the video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the constitutions of the donors.

Photo on the head: From the published video.

Reference: 1. Hopf, Carl. Geschichte Griechenlands vom Beginn des Mittelalters bis auf unsere Zeit. 1960;
2. Gelcich, Giuseppe. Zeta dhe Dinastia e Balshajve. Tiranё, 2009