Enver Hoxha, Albania’s Stalinist dictator, ruled the country’s starving population from 1945 to 1985 with great cruelty and led Albania into total political and economic isolation. He and his family lived in the 40,000-square-foot Vila 31, which was built for him in 1974 in a secured area of ​​Tirana. The family lived there until the regime was overthrown in 1991. Over the following years, the rooms continued to be inaccessible to the public and were only used for rare government events. They remained largely untouched and offered an unfiltered insight into the dictator’s family life.

The photographs Philipp Funke took in 2019 document the villa in a way that renders the dictator’s family’s presence palpable. Capturing the motifs with great skill, the images succeed in conveying the rooms’ power and, by extension, the character of their former residents.

In 2023, the villa was handed over to a French foundation, which is converting the building for public use and artistic programs.