Avlona

Avlona (Ital. Valona, anc. Aulon), the best seaport in Albania, in the province of Janina, stands on an eminence near the Gulf of Avlona, an inlet of the Adriatic, protected by the island of Sasseno, the ancient Saso. It is one of the stations of the Austrian Lloyd steamers, and carries on considerable trade with Brindisi, &c. Pop. about 5000. The Christian inhabitants, who are chiefly Italians, are engaged in commerce, exporting oil, wool, salt, pitch, and especially some 40,000 tortoise-shells yearly. The Turks are employed in the manufacture of weapons and woollen fabrics. Valonia, a material imported to England for tanning, is the pericarp of an acorn grown in the neighbourhood. Up to 1691 the town belonged to the Venetians.