Italy's interior minister Luciana Lamorgese has sent her Albanian counterpart Sander Lleshaj "profound condolences and solidarity" after Tuesday's magnitude 6.4 tremor near Tirana that killed over 26 people and injured 650.
Lamorgese's letter also expressed " closeness to the families of the victims" of the "tragic and serious calamity" that had struck Albania, according to an Italian interior ministry statement.
The Italian prime minister's office is coordinating the despatch of expert rescuers to help locate and dig out victims of the earthquake as well as technical help in assessing damage, the statement said.
Search teams have arrived from a number of European countries to help find survivors.
Most of the quake deaths occurred in the coastal city of Durres and the town of Thumane, close to the epicentre. Hundreds of people in the area spent the night in tents, some slept in cars, as aftershocks continue - there have been around 500 so far.
The Albanian government has declared Wednesday a day of mourning.
