In Skopje, a government plan costing several hundreds of millions of euros is creating a brand new, ancient city center; the project is called “Skopje 2014.” So far, some thirty government buildings and museums, as well as countless monuments in classic style have been erected in the Macedonian capital, in an attempt to put Skopje on a par with Rome and Athens. In some cases, existing socialist structures were incorporated into the new builds. A city looks for a future in history. In Bigger Than Life present-day Skopje becomes an archaeological dig: a puzzle about multi-ethnic states and the phantasm of national purity, about romanticism and love, personal and collective memories, truth and falsification, and about how a history built on empty claims can actually take on substance.