Albanians of Italy ย ยท Italo-Albanians | |
|---|---|
The Albanian settlements of Italy (numbered list) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
(Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Sicily) | 100,000[1][2][3]โ260,000[a][4] |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
Eastern Catholicism (Italo-Albanian Church) (minority: Latin Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
The Arbรซreshรซ (pronounced [aษพbษหษพษส]; Albanian: Arbรซreshรซt e Italisรซ; Italian: Albanesi d'Italia), also known as Albanians of Italy or Italo-Albanians, are an Albanian ethnolinguistic group minority historically settled in Southern and Insular Italy (in the regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Molise, but mostly concentrated in the regions of Calabria and Sicily).[5]
They are the descendants of Albanian refugees settled in the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily who fled from Albania, Epirus, and later some from the numerous Albanian communities of Attica and Morea, between the 14th and the 18th centuries following the death of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg and the gradual conquest of the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks. Their culture is determined by the main features that are found in language, religious rite, traditional costume, art and gastronomy, still zealously preserved, with the awareness of belonging to a specific ethnic group.
Over the centuries, the Arbรซreshรซ have managed to maintain and develop their identities, thanks to their cultural value exercised mainly by the religious communities of the Byzantine Rite.[6] Nowadays, most of the fifty Arbรซreshรซ communities are adherents to the Italo-Albanian Church, an Eastern Catholic Church. They belong to two eparchies, the Lungro, for the Arbรซreshรซ of Continental Italy, the Piana degli Albanesi, for the Arbรซreshรซ of Sicily, and the Monastery of Grottaferrata of Lazio, whose Basilian monks come largely from the Albanian settlements of Italy. The church is the most important organization for maintaining the characteristic religious, ethnic, linguistic and traditional identity of the Arbรซreshรซ community.[7]
The Arbรซreshรซ speak Arbรซrisht, an old variant of the Albanian language which derives from the Tosk Albanian spoken in central-southern Albania and Epirus.[8] In Italy the Albanian Arbรซresh language is protected by law number 482/99, concerning the protection of the historic linguistic minorities.[9]
The Arbรซreshรซ are scattered also in other parts of Italy. They are in great numbers in North and South America, especially in the US, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay, and in the various parts of central-northern Europe. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 Italo-Albanians (400,000 if including those outside of Italy); they constitute one of the oldest and largest minorities in Italy.[10][11] When speaking about their "nation", Arbรซresh use the term Arbรซria, a loose geographical term for the scattered villages in southern Italy which use Arbรซresh language.[10]
In the light of historical events, the secular continuity of the Albanian presence in Italy is exceptional. In 2017, an official application for inclusion of the Arbรซresh people has been submitted to the UNESCO as a living human and social intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the Government of Albania.[12][13]
Distribution
edit







The Arbรซresh villages maintain two or three names, an Italian one as well as one or two native Arbรซresh names by which villagers know the place. The Arbรซreshรซ communities are divided into numerous ethnic islands corresponding to different areas of southern Italy. However, some places have already lost their original characteristics and the language, and others have totally disappeared. Today, Italy has 50 communities of Arbรซreshรซ origin and culture, 41 municipalities and 9 villages, spread across seven regions of southern Italy, forming a population of about 100,000.[1][2] Some cultural islands survive in the metropolitan areas of Milan, Chieri, Turin, Rome, Naples, Bari, Cosenza, Crotone and Palermo. In the rest of the world, following the migrations of the twentieth century to countries such as Canada, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and the United States, there are strong communities that keep Arbรซreshรซ traditions alive.
The full list of the Arbรซresh Communities in Italy is:[14]
- Abruzzo
- Province of Pescara
- Villa Badessa (frazione of Rosciano): Badhesa
- Province of Pescara
- Molise
- Province of Campobasso
- Campomarino: Kรซmarini
- Montecilfone: Munxhufuni
- Portocannone: Portkanuni
- Ururi: Rรนri
- Province of Campobasso
- Campania
- Province of Avellino
- Greci: Katundi
- Province of Avellino
- Apulia
- Province of Foggia
- Casalvecchio di Puglia: Kazallveqi
- Chieuti: Qefti
- Provincia di Taranto
- San Marzano di San Giuseppe: Shรซn Marcani
- Province of Foggia
- Basilicata
- Province of Potenza
- Barile: Barilli
- Ginestra: Zhura
- Maschito: Mashqiti
- Rionero in Vulture:[15] A-Rionero
- San Costantino Albanese: Shรซn Kostandini Arbรซresh
- San Paolo Albanese: Shรซn Pali Arbรซresh
- Province of Potenza
- Calabria
- Province of Catanzaro
- Andali: Andalli
- Caraffa di Catanzaro: Garafa
- Marcedusa: Marรงรซdhuza
- Vena di Maida (frazione of Maida): Vina
- Zagariseย : Zagari
- Province of Cosenza
- Acquaformosa: Firmoza
- Cantinella (frazione of Corigliano-Rossano): Kantinela
- Cerzeto (in the commune of Cerzeto): Qana
- Castroregio: Kastรซrnexhi
- Cavallerizzo (frazione of Cerzeto): Kajverici
- Civita: รifti
- Eianina (frazione of Frascineto): Purรงรฌll
- Falconara Albanese: Fullkunara
- Farneta (frazione of Castroregio): Farneta
- Firmo: Ferma
- Frascineto: Frasnita
- Lungro: Ungra
- Macchia Albanese (frazione of San Demetrio Corone): Maqi
- Malito
- Marri (frazione of San Benedetto Ulolano): Allimarri
- Mongrassano: Mungrasana
- Plataci: Pllatรซni
- San Basile: Shรซn Vasili
- San Benedetto Ullano: Shรซn Benedhiti
- Santa Caterina Albanese: Picilia
- San Cosmo Albanese Strihร ri
- San Demetrio Corone: Shรซn Mitri
- San Giorgio Albanese: Mbuzati
- San Giacomo di Cerzeto (frazione of Cerzeto): Shรซn Japku
- San Martino di Finita: Shรซn Mรซrtiri
- Santa Sofia d'Epiro: Shรซn Sofia
- Spezzano Albanese: Spixana
- Vaccarizzo Albanese: Vakarici
- Province of Crotone
- Carfizzi: Karfici
- Pallagorio: Puhรซriu
- San Nicola dell'Alto Shรซn Kolli
- Province of Catanzaro
- Sicily
- Province of Catania
- Biancavilla: Callรฌcari
- Province of Palermo
- Contessa Entellina: Kuntisa
- Piana degli Albanesi: Hora e Arbรซreshรซvet
- Santa Cristina Gela: Sรซndahstina
- Province of Catania
Community of Albanian origin
editMore than thirty ancient Albanian centers have lost, in different historical periods and for various reasons, the use of the Albanian language and are thus characterized by a lack of historical and cultural heritage of the Arbรซresh: for Emilia-Romagna they are Pievetta and Bosco Tosca, hamlets of Castel San Giovanni (PC); for Lazio it is Pianiano (VT), a hamlet of Cellere; for Molise it is Santa Croce di Magliano (CB); for Campania in the province of Caserta it is Alife; for Apulia they are Casalnuovo Monterotaro, Castelluccio dei Sauri, San Paolo di Civitate (FG), Monteparano, San Giorgio Ionico, San Crispieri, Faggiano, Roccaforzata, Monteiasi, Carosino, Montemesola (TA); for Basilicata they are Brindisi Montagna, Rionero in Vulture (PZ); for Calabria are Cervicati (รervikat), Mongrassano (Mungrasana), Rota Greca (Rrota), San Lorenzo del Vallo (Sullarรซnxa '), Sartano, Serra d'Aiello (Serrรซ, CS), Amato, Arietta (Arjรจta), fraction of Petronร , Gizzeria (Jacaria) and the hamlets Mortilla (Mortilรซ) and Gizzeria Lido (Zalli i Jacarisรซ), Zagarise, Zangarona (Xingarona), fraction of Lamezia Terme, (CZ); for Sicily they are Mezzojuso (Munxifsi), Palazzo Adriano (Pallaci, PA), Sant'Angelo Muxaro (Shรซnt'รngjรซlli, AG), Biancavilla (Callรฌcari), Bronte (Brontรซ), San Michele di Ganzaria(Shรซn Mikelli, CT).
The communities of Mezzojuso and Palazzo Adriano, in the province of Palermo, are to be considered a particular case, since, despite having lost the Albanian language and the customs of origin, they have kept the Greek-Byzantine rite, a peculiar pillar - together with language and customs - of the Albanian identity of the diaspora. In this case the identity is preserved in the religious aspect and in the historical memory. The communities of Cervicati, Mongrassano and Rota Greca, in the province of Cosenza, preserve the memory of the original cultural heritage.
The Albanian migrations, since the beginning of the long diaspora, led to the formation of medium-small arbรซreshe communities well integrated in numerous existing cities of central-northern Italy (in particular, Venice) and in the Crown of Aragon (Naples, Bari, Altamura, Barletta, Andria, Trani, Foggia, Bovino, San Severo, Lecce, Brindisi, Potenza, Matera, Melfi, Caltagirone and Piazza Armerina), in most cases reality - again for different reasons - assimilated by the surrounding culture.
Cultural islands, migrations and the modern Albanian diaspora
editRelevant cultural islands survive in the large metropolitan areas of Milan, Turin, Rome, Naples, Bari, Cosenza, Crotone and Palermo. In the rest of the world, following the migrations of the twentieth century in countries such as Canada, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay there are strong communities that they keep the Arbรซreshรซ language and traditions alive.
Since 1990, with the fall of the post-Bolshevik communist regime in Albania, significant communities of shqiptarรซ (Albanians of Albania) have entered and integrated into the social fabric of the Italian-Albanian towns. With the struggle for the independence of Kosovo (2008) a very recent group of Albanians, victims of the ethnic cleansing of the Yugoslav regime, has also integrated itself into the various Albanian communities of Italy.
History
editEthnonym
editIn the Middle Ages, the native Albanians in the area of Albania called their country Arbรซri or Arbรซni and referred to themselves as Arbรซreshรซ or Arbรซneshรซ.[16][17] In the sixteenth century, the toponym Shqipรซria and the demonym Shqiptarรซ gradually replaced Arbรซria and Arbรซresh respectively. Nowadays, only the Albanians in Italy, whose ancestors immigrated from the Middle Ages, are called Arbรซresh and the language Arbรซrisht. The term Arbรซreshรซ and its variants are also used as endonyms by the Arbanasi in Croatia, Arvanites in Greece, and Arnavut in Turkey.
Early modern migrations
edit

The invasion of the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century forced many Arbรซreshรซ to emigrate from Albania and Epirus, Attica, Thebes, Peloponnese then called Morea and other Islands to southern Italy. There were several waves of migrations. In 1448, the King of Naples Alfonso V of Aragon appealed to Skanderbeg to help suppress a revolt at Naples. Skanderbeg sent a force under the leadership of Demetrio Reres, and his two sons. Following a request by the Albanian soldiers, King Alfonso granted them land and they were settled in twelve villages in the mountainous area called Catanzaro in 1448. A year later the sons of Demetrio, George and Basil along with other Albanians were settled in four villages in Sicily.[19]
In 1461, the son of Alfonso, king Ferdinand I of Naples again requested the help of Skanderbeg. This time, the legendary leader himself came to Italy with his troops led by one of his generals, Luca Baffa, to end a French-supported insurrection. Skanderbeg was appointed as the leader of the combined Neapolitan-Albanian army and, after winning two decisive battles, the Albanian soldiers effectively defended Naples. This time they were rewarded with land east of Taranto in Apulia, populating 15 other villages.
After the death of Skanderbeg in 1468, the organized Albanian resistance against the Ottomans came to an end. Like much of the Balkans, Albania became subject to the invading Turks. Many of its people under the rule of Luca Baffa and Marco Becci fled to the neighboring countries and settled in a few villages in Calabria. From the time of Skanderbeg's death until 1480 there were constant migrations of Albanians to the Italian coast. Throughout the 16th century, these migrations continued and other Albanian villages were formed on Italian soil.[20] The new immigrants often took up work as mercenaries hired by Italian armies.
According to some albanologists, this historiographic tradition was created ad hoc, as they believe that the resistance of Skanderbeg against the Turks was not the major factor that produced the Albanian migration to Italy. Indeed, scholars argue that Albanians have migrated from the western Balkans to Italy through several waves since the Middle Ages, even before Skanderbeg's period.[21]
Another wave of emigration, between 1500 and 1534, relates to Arbรซreshรซ from central Greece. Employed as mercenaries by Venice, they had to evacuate the colonies of the Peloponnese with the assistance of the troops of Charles V, as the Turks had invaded that region. Charles V established these troops in southern Italy to reinforce defenses against the threat of Turkish invasion. Established in isolated villages (which enabled them to maintain their culture until the 20th century), Arbรซreshรซ were, traditionally, soldiers for the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice, from the Wars of Religion to the Napoleonic invasion.
Later migrations
editThe wave of migration from southern Italy to the Americas in 1900โ1910 and 1920โ1940 depopulated approximately half of the Arbรซreshรซ villages, and subjected the population to the risk of cultural disappearance, despite the beginning of a cultural and artistic revival in the 19th century.
Since the end of communism in Albania in 1990, there has been a wave of immigration into Arbรซreshรซ villages by Albanians.[citation needed]
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Ethnographic map: 1859 depicting the Albanian population in green
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Albanian ethno-linguistic territories
Language
edit
Arbรซresh derives from the Tosk dialect spoken in southern Albania, and is spoken in Southern Italy in the regions of Calabria, Molise, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Abruzzi, and Sicily. All dialects of Arbรซresh are closely related to each other.


The Arbรซresh language retains many archaisms of medieval Albanian from pre-Ottoman Albania in the 15th century. It also retains some Greek language elements, including vocabulary and pronunciation. It has also preserved some conservative features that were lost in mainstream Albanian Tosk. For example, it has preserved certain syllable-initial consonant clusters which have been simplified in Standard Albanian (cf. Arbรซrisht gluhรซ /หษกluxษ/ ('language/tongue'), vs. Standard Albanian gjuhรซ /หษuhษ/). It sounds more archaic than Standard Albanian, but is close enough that it is written using the same Albanian alphabet as Standard Albanian. A Shqiptar (Albanian) listening to or reading Arbรซrisht is similar to a modern English speaker listening to or reading Shakespearean English. The Arbรซresh language is of particular interest to students of the modern Albanian language as it represents the sounds, grammar, and vocabulary of pre-Ottoman Albania.
Arbรซrisht was commonly called Albanese ("Albanian" in Italian) in Italy until the 1990s. Until recently, Arbรซrisht speakers had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian. Until the 1980s Arbรซrisht was exclusively a spoken language, except for its written form used in the Italo-Albanian Church, and Arbรซreshรซ people had no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they did not use this form in writing or in media. When a large number of immigrants from Albania began to enter Italy in the 1990s, they came into contact with local Arbรซreshรซ communities.
Since the 1980s, some efforts have been organized to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of the language. Arbรซrisht has been under a slow decline in recent decades, but is currently experiencing a revival in many villages in Italy. Figures such as Giuseppe Schirรฒ Di Maggio have done much work on school books and other language learning tools in the language, producing two books Udha e Mbarรซ and Udhรซtimi, both used in schools in the village of Piana degli Albanesi.
Linguists focusing on the language include (Albanian) Eda Derhemi,[22] (diaspora born) Martin Di Maggio[23] as well as (Piana degli Albanesi native) Vito Matranga.[24]
There is no official political, administrative or cultural structure which represents the Arbรซresh community. Arbรซrรซsh is not one of the group of minority languages that enjoy the special protection of the State under Article 6 of the Italian Constitution. At the regional level, however, Arbรซrisht is accorded some degree of official recognition in the autonomy statutes of Calabria, Basilicata and Molise.
- In the case of Calabria, the region is to provide for recognition of the historical culture and artistic heritage of the populations of Arbรซresh origin and to promote the teaching of the two languages in the places where they are spoken.
- Article 5 of the autonomy statute of Basilicata lays down that the regional authorities "shall promote renewed appreciation of the originality of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the local communities".
- Finally, the autonomy statute of the Molise region stipulates that the region "shall be the guardian of the linguistic and historical heritage and of the popular traditions of the ethnic communities existing in its territory and, by agreement with the interested municipalities, shall promote renewed appreciation of them".
In certain communes the local authorities support cultural and linguistic activities promoted by the Arbรซresh communities and have agreed to the erection of bilingual road signs.[25] There are associations that try to protect the culture, particularly in the province of Cosenza. The Arbรซresh language is used in some private radios and publications. The fundamental laws of the areas of Molise, Basilicata and Calabria make reference to the Arbรซresh language and culture. Nevertheless, the increase in training in the use of the written language has given some hope for the continuity of this culture.
Literature
editEarly Arbรซreshรซ literature
editThe first work of Italo-Albanian literature was that of Sicilian archpriest Luca Matranga (1567โ1619). The book was titled E mbsuama e krรซshterรซ (Christian Doctrine) and it was a simple religious translation in Arbรซresh language, aiming at bringing Christianity closer to his people is Southern Italy. While during the 17th century there were no Arbรซresh writers, in the 18th century there was Giulio Variboba (1724โ1788, Jul Variboba), regarded by many Albanians as the first genuine poet in all of Albanian literature.[26] Born in San Giorgio Albanese (Mbuzati) and educated in Corsini Seminary in San Benedetto Ullano, after many polemics with local priest he went to exile in Rome in 1761 and there he published in 1762 his long lyric poem Ghiella e Shรซn Mรซriis Virghiรซr (The life of Virgin Mary). The poem has been written entirely in dialect of San Giorgio and has about 4717 lines. Variboba is considered unique in Albanian literature for his poetic sensitivities and the variety of rhythmic expression. Another known artistic figure of that time was Nicola Chetta (1740โ1803) known in Albanian as Nikollรซ Keta. As a poet he wrote verses both in Albanian and Greek language and he has also composed the first Albanian sonnet in 1777. Being a poet, lexicographer, linguist, historian, theologian and rector of Greek seminary, his variety and universality of work distinguish him from other writers of the period.[27] The most prominent figure among Arbรซresh writers and the foremost figure of the Albanian nationalist movement in 19th-century Italy was that of Girolamo de Rada (Jeronim De Rada). Born the son of a parish priest of Italo-Albanian Catholic Church in Macchia Albanese (Maqi) in the mountains of Cosenza, De Rada attended the college of Saint Adrian in San Demetrio Corone. In October 1834, in accordance with his father's wishes, he registered at the Faculty of Law of the University of Naples, but the main focus of his interests remained folklore and literature. It was in Naples in 1836 that De Rada published the first edition of his best-known Albanian-language poem, the "Songs of Milosao", under the Italian title Poesie albanesi del secolo XV. Canti di Milosao, figlio del despota di Scutari (Albanian poetry from the 15th century. Songs of Milosao, son of the despot of Shkodra). His second work, Canti storici albanesi di Serafina Thopia, moglie del principe Nicola Ducagino, Naples 1839 (Albanian historical songs of Serafina Thopia, wife of prince Nicholas Dukagjini), was seized by the Bourbon authorities because of De Rada's alleged affiliation with conspiratorial groups during the Italian Risorgimento. The work was republished under the title Canti di Serafina Thopia, principessa di Zadrina nel secolo XV, Naples 1843 (Songs of Serafina Thopia, princess of Zadrina in the 15th century) and in later years in a third version as Specchio di umano transito, vita di Serafina Thopia, Principessa di Ducagino, Naples 1897 (Mirror of human transience, life of Serafina Thopia, princess of Dukagjin). His Italian-language historical tragedy I Numidi, Naples 1846 (The Numidians), elaborated half a century later as Sofonisba, dramma storico, Naples 1892 (Sofonisba, historical drama), enjoyed only modest public response. In the revolutionary year 1848, De Rada founded the newspaper L'Albanese d'Italia (The Albanian of Italy) which included articles in Albanian. This bilingual "political, moral and literary journal" with a final circulation of 3,200 copies was the first Albanian-language periodical anywhere.
De Rada was the harbinger and first audible voice of the Romantic movement in Albanian literature, a movement which, inspired by his unfailing energy on behalf of national awakening among Albanians in Italy and in the Balkans, was to evolve into the romantic nationalism characteristic of the Rilindja period in Albania. His journalistic, literary and political activities were instrumental not only in fostering an awareness for the Arbรซresh minority in Italy but also in laying the foundations for an Albanian national literature.
The most popular of his literary works is the above-mentioned Canti di Milosao (Songs of Milosao), known in Albanian as Kรซngรซt e Milosaos, a long romantic ballad portraying the love of Milosao, a fictitious young nobleman in fifteenth-century Shkodra (Scutari), who has returned home from Thessalonica. Here, at the village fountain, he encounters and falls in love with Rina, the daughter of the shepherd Kollogre. The difference in social standing between the lovers long impedes their union until an earthquake destroys both the city and all semblance of class distinction. After their marriage abroad, a child is born. But the period of marital bliss does not last long. Milosao's son and wife soon die, and he himself, wounded in battle, perishes on a riverbank within sight of Shkodra.
Religion
editThe Italo-Albanian Church
editThe Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, particular church sui iuris, includes three ecclesiastical jurisdictions: the Eparchy of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi for the Albanians of Southern Italy based in Lungro (CS); the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi for Albanians of Insular Italy based in Piana degli Albanesi (PA); the Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria of Grottaferrata, with Basilian monks (O.S.B.I.) come from the Italo-Albanian communities, located in the only abbey and abbey church in Grottaferrata (RM).[citation needed]
The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church being a Byzantine enclave in the Latin West, is secularly inclined to ecumenism between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.[clarification needed] It was the only abode of eastern Christianity from the end of the Middle Ages until the twentieth century in Italy.[citation needed]
There are institutions and religious congregations of the Byzantine rite in the territory of the Italo-Albanian Church: the Basilian Order of Grottaferrata, the Collegine Sisters of Sacra Famiglia, Piccole operaie dei Sacri Cuori and the congregation of the Basilian Sisters Daughters of Saint Macrina.[citation needed]
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The Cathedral of Lungro of the Italo-Albanians of Southern Italy
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The Cathedral of Piana degli Albanesi of the Italo-Albanians of Sicily, Italy
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The Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria of Grottaferrata with Basilian monks from the Italo-Albanian communities
Culture
editTraditions and folklore
editAmong the Arbรซreshรซ the memory of Skanderbeg and his exploits was maintained and survived through songs, in the form of a Skanderbeg cycle.[28]
Arbรซreshรซ people have preserved their Albanian traditional dances (vallje), including the Albanian sword dance.
Gjitonรญa
edit"Gjitonia" is a form of neighbourhood typical of Arbรซresh communities and widespread throughout the Arbรซresh people. It comes from the Greek ฮณฮตฮนฯฮฟฮฝฮนฮฌ (geitonรญa). The Gjitonรญa functions as a microsystem around which the life of the horรซ (village) revolves; the Gjitonรญa is a smaller-scale version of the layout of the village often consisting of a small square towards which the alleys are oriented, surrounded by buildings that have openings towards a larger square (shesh) on diagonal angles. The name is usually taken from the families that live there. The social aspect of the Gjitonรญa is an ancient and historical structure where values of hospitality and solidarity between the families of the neighbourhood coexisted and where there was no difference of social class. Mainly for the Italian-Albanian communities, it is a world where relationships were so strong that they created real family relationships so much so that the Arbรซreshe phrase Gjitoni gjirรฌ ("neighbourhood relatives") is typical.[29]
Cuisine
edit




The Arbรซreshรซ cuisine is composed of the cuisines of Albania and Italy. The style of cooking and the food associated with it have evolved over many centuries from their Albanian origins to a mixed cuisine of Sicilian, Calabrian, and Lucanian influences.
These traditional dishes are Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo, Sicily):
- Strangujรซt โ A form of Gnocchi called Strangujtรซ made with flour by hand, flavoured with tomato sauce (lรซnk) and basil. Traditionally this dish was consumed by families seated around a floor level table of wood (zbrilla) on 14 September, the Festa e Kryqit Shejt (Exaltation of the Cross).
- Grurรซt โ Boiled wheat dish flavored with olive oil, known as cuccรฌa in the Sicilian language. The tradition is to eat it on Festa e Sรซnda Lluรงisรซ. Variations are the use of sweetened milk or ricotta with flakes of chocolate, orange peel and almonds.
- Kanojรซt โ Cannoli, the universally famous Pianotto sweet pastry. Its culinary secret is waffle (shkorรงa) of flour, wine, lard and salt and filled with sweetened ricotta, and lastly sprinkled with sieved chocolate.
- Bukรซ โ Arbรซresh bread (bukรซ) is prepared with local hard grain flour and manufactured to a round and mostly leavened shape with natural methods. It is cooked in antique firewood furnaces (Tandoor). It is eaten warm flavored with olive oil (vaj i ullirit) and dusted with cheese or with fresh ricotta.
- Panaret โ Arbรซresh Easter bread shaped either into a circle or into two large braids and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is adorned with red Easter eggs. The Easter eggs are dyed deep red to represent the blood of Christ, the eggs also represent new life and springtime. It is traditionally eaten during the Resurrection Meal. After 40 days of fasting, as per the Byzantine Catholic tradition, the Easter feast has to begin slowly, with a light meal after the midnight liturgy on Saturday night. The fast is generally broken with panaret.
- Loshkat and Petullat โ Sweetened spherical or crushed shaped fried leavened dough. Eaten on the eve of E Mart e Madh Carnival.
- Tรซ plotit โ A sweet cake in various shaped with fig marmalade filling, one of the oldest Arbรซresh dishes.
- Milanisรซ โ Traditionally eaten on the Saint Joseph's Day (Festa e Shรซn Zefit) and Good Friday, is a pasta dish made with a sauce (lรซnk) of wild fennel paste, sardines and pine nuts.
- Udhose and Gjizรซ โ Homemade cheese and ricotta normally dried outdoors.
- Likรซngรซ โ Pork sausages flavored with salt, pepper and seed of Fennel (farรซ mbrai).
- Llapsana โ Forest Brussels sprout (llapsana) fried with garlic and oil.
- Dorรซzรซt โ Very thin home-made semolina spaghetti, cooked in milk and eaten on Ascension Day.
- Groshรซt โ Soup made of fava beans, chickpeas and haricot beans.
- Verdhรซt โ During Easter a kind of pie is prepared with eggs, lamb, ricotta, sheep cheese and (previously boiled) leaf stalks of golden thistle; in some villages, the young aerial parts of wild fennel are used instead.
Physical appearance
editA study from 1918 included 59 Arbรซreshรซ men from Cosenza, Calabria, the result showed that fair hair was present in 27% of them. The same study also showed that the frequencies of light eyes and white skin, were 47% and 67% respectively. The Arbรซreshรซ, from this survey, are found to be overall less pigmented than the Calabrians. They are also taller (m. 1.64) and less dolichocephalic (cephalic index 80.6).[30]
Genetics
editMultiple studies based on paternal lineages revealed the Arbereshรซ to be clearly an outlier population in the Italian genetic background, with a strong genetic affinity with southern Balkans populations and with only a minimal admixture from nearby Greek and Italian populations. The haplogroups most strongly associated with Arbereshรซ people are R1a-Z282, I-M423, R1b-M269, I-M26, E-V13, I-M223 and E-M123, all found in the Balkans since the Bronze Age and Medieval Age.[31][32][33]
A full genome study found that the Arbereshรซ appears as slightly differentiated from Southern Italians, by clustering with the other Southern Balkan populations such as Albanians of Albania and Kosovo.[34]
Notable Arbรซreshรซ people
editGallery
edit-
Italo-Albanian woman on Ellis Island, New York, 1905
-
Iconostasis in a church in Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily
-
Bilingual sign in Albanian and Italian in Maschito, Basilicata
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Arbรซresh craft-workshop in Piana degli Albanesi
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Traditional Arbรซreshรซ costume of San Martino di Finita in Calabria
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Arbรซreshรซ dance, Civita
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Typical Arbรซreshรซ female costumes of San Basile in Calabria
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Projected ethnic population.
References
edit- ^ a b Fiorenzo Toso (2006). Baldini & Castoldi (ed.). Lingue d'Europa. La pluralitร linguistica dei Paesi europei fra passato e presente. Roma. p.ย 90. ISBNย 9788884908841. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b P. Bruni, ed. (2004). Arbรซreshรซ: cultura e civiltร di un popolo. Istituto poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato. ISBNย 9788824020091.
- ^ "Currently there are about fifty Albanian-speaking centres in Italy, with a population estimated to be around 100,000, though there are no precise figures for the actual numbers of Italo-Albanians. The most recent precise figure is given in the census for 1921; the number of Albanian speakers was 80,282, far fewer than the 197 thousand mentioned in the study of A. Frega of 1997."
Amelia De Lucia; Giorgio Gruppioni; Rosalina Grumo; Gjergj Vinjahu (eds.). "Albanian Cultural Profile" (PDF). Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche, Universitร degli Studi di Bari, Italia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016. - ^ "Ethnologue: Albanian, Arbรซreshรซ". Ethnologue. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ Minni, C. Dino; Ciampolini, Anna Foschi (1990). Writers in transition: the proceedings of the First National Conference of Italian-Canadian Writers. Guernica Editions. pp.ย 63โ4. ISBNย 978-0-920717-26-4. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ The Greek College in Rome (1583), established for the training of the Greek-Catholic clergy of the Albanians of Italy; the Basilian A. Reres Monastery of Mezzojuso (1609), important for the Catholic missions in Albania; the Oratory of S. Filippo Neri (Rritiri) of Piana degli Albanesi (1716), for celibate priests; the College of Maria of Piana degli Albanesi (1731), for young Italo-Albanian girls; and in particular by the two national seminars, also attracting many Albanians from the Balkans for the, based in Calabria, the Corsini College in 1732, then Sant'Adriano Italo-Albanian College of San Benedetto Ullano in 1794, and the Italo-Albanian Seminary of Palermo in 1735, which was then transferred to Piana degli Albanesi in 1950.
- ^ Shkodra, arbรซreshรซt dhe lidhjet italo-shqiptare. Universiteti i Shkodrรซs "Luigj Gurakuqi". 2013. ISBNย 978-9928-4135-3-6.
- ^ It is of particular interest as it retains speech sounds, morphosyntactic and vocabulary elements of the language spoken in pre-Ottoman Albania.
- ^ "Legge 482". Camera.it. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ a b Essays on Politics and Society Author Hasan Jashari Publisher lulu.com, 2015 ISBNย 1-84511-031-5, ISBNย 978-1-326-27184-8 p. 64.
- ^ Fiorenzo Toso, Lingue d'Europa. La pluralitร linguistica dei Paesi europei fra passato e presente, Roma, Baldini & Castoldi, 2006, p. 90.
- ^ "Top Channel.tv Albania โ Arbรซreshรซt kรซrkojnรซ ndihmรซ nga Tirana: Tรซ njihemi nรซ UNESCO". Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ Arbรซreshรซt kรซrkojnรซ tรซ anรซtarรซsohen nรซ UNESCO
- ^ "Comunitร albanesi d' Italia" (in Italian). Arbitalia. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ "RIONERO IN VULTURE (Basilicata / Lucania) โ Fotografie". lucania1.altervista.org. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Casanova. "Radio-Arberesh.eu". Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ Kristo Frasheri. History of Albania (A Brief Overview). Tirana, 1964.
- ^ Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical dictionary of Albania. Lanham.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ The Italo-Albanian villages of southern Italy Issue 25 of Foreign field research program, report, National Research Council (U.S.) Division of Earth Sciences Volume 1149 of Publication (National Research Council (U.S.)) Foreign field research program, sponsored by Office of Naval research, report; no.25 Issue 25 of Report, National Research Council (U.S.). Division of Earth Sciences Volume 1149 of (National Academy of Sciences. National Research Council. Publication) Author George Nicholas Nasse Publisher National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, 1964 page 24-25 link [1]
- ^ The Italo-Albanian villages of southern Italy Issue 25 of Foreign field research program, report, National Research Council (U.S.). Division of Earth Sciences Volume 1149 of Publication (National Research Council (U.S.))) Foreign field research program, sponsored by Office of Naval research, report; no.25 Issue 25 of Report, National Research Council (U.S.). Division of Earth Sciences Volume 1149 of (National Academy of Sciences. National Research Council. Publication) Author George Nicholas Nasse Publisher National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, 1964 page 26 link [2]
- ^ Ardian Muhaj "Le origini economiche e demografiche dell'insediamento degli arbรซreshรซ in Italia. Dal medioevo alla prima etร moderna", Basiliscos, Rivista specialistica annuale dell' Istituto di Studi Storici per la Basilicata Meridionale, 3 (2016), pp. 26-29
- ^ Derhemi, Eda (2006). "Features of dysfunctional attrition in the Arbresh of Piana degli Albanesi". International Journal of the Sociology of Language (178): 31โ53. doi:10.1515/IJSL.2006.014. S2CIDย 144957661.
- ^ Maggio, Martin Di. "Arbรซresh: Language mixing, translanguaging and possible solutions to issue of maintenance".
- ^ Matranga, Vito; Milano, Emma (2019). "Strategies for conservation of a minority language". The Intricacy of Languages. IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature. Vol.ย 20. pp.ย 228โ241. doi:10.1075/ivitra.20.13mat. ISBNย 978-90-272-0442-4. S2CIDย 210532463.
- ^ Euromosaic. Albanian in Italy.
- ^ Albanian literature: a short history Authors Robert Elsie, Centre for Albanian Studies (London, England) Publisher I.B. Tauris, 2005 ISBNย 1-84511-031-5, ISBNย 978-1-84511-031-4 p. 45
- ^ Albanian literature: a short history Authors Robert Elsie, Centre for Albanian Studies (London, England) Publisher I.B.Tauris, 2005 ISBNย 1-84511-031-5, ISBNย 978-1-84511-031-4 p. 46-47
- ^ Skendi, Stavro (1968). "Skenderbeg and Albanian Consciousness". Sรผdost Forschungen. 27: 83โ84. "The memory of the Albanian national hero was maintained vividly among the Albanians of Italy, those who emigrated to Calabria and Sicily, following his death.... Living compactly in Christian territory, though in separate communities, the Italo-Albanians have preserved the songs about Skenderbeg and his exploits which their ancestors had brought from the mother country. Today one may even speak of the existence of a Skenderbeg cycle among them, if one takes into account also the songs on other Albanian heroes who surrounded him."
- ^ MASCI, L.F. Gli insediamenti Albanesi in Italia (Morfologia e Architettura), Nuclei Urbani della Calabria Citra. Comune di S. Sofia D'Epiro 2004
- ^ A SKETCH OF THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF ITALY.By V. GlUFFRIDA-RUGGERI, PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NAPLES.
- ^ Boattini, Alessio; Luiselli, Donata; Sazzini, Marco; Useli, Antonella; Tagarelli, Giuseppe; Pettener, Davide (January 2011). "Linking Italy and the Balkans. A Y-chromosome perspective from the Arbereshe of Calabria". Annals of Human Biology. 38 (1): 59โ68. doi:10.3109/03014460.2010.491837. ISSNย 1464-5033. PMIDย 20569043.
- ^ Tofanelli, Sergio; Brisighelli, Francesca; Anagnostou, Paolo; Busby, George B. J.; Ferri, Gianmarco; Thomas, Mark G.; Taglioli, Luca; Rudan, Igor; Zemunik, Tatijana; Hayward, Caroline; Bolnick, Deborah; Romano, Valentino; Cali, Francesco; Luiselli, Donata; Shepherd, Gillian B. (15 July 2015). "The Greeks in the West: genetic signatures of the Hellenic colonisation in southern Italy and Sicily". European Journal of Human Genetics. 24 (3): 429โ436. doi:10.1038/ejhg.2015.124. ISSNย 1476-5438. PMCย 4757772. PMIDย 26173964.
- ^ Sarno, Stefania; Tofanelli, Sergio; De Fanti, Sara; Quagliariello, Andrea; Bortolini, Eugenio; Ferri, Gianmarco; Anagnostou, Paolo; Brisighelli, Francesca; Capelli, Cristian; Tagarelli, Giuseppe; Sineo, Luca; Luiselli, Donata; Boattini, Alessio; Pettener, Davide (1 July 2015). "Shared language, diverging genetic histories: high-resolution analysis of Y-chromosome variability in Calabrian and Sicilian Arbereshe". European Journal of Human Genetics. 24 (4): 600โ606. doi:10.1038/ejhg.2015.138. hdl:10447/149137. ISSNย 1476-5438. PMCย 4929864. PMIDย 26130483.
- ^ Sarno, Stefania (16 May 2017). "Ancient and recent admixture layers in Sicily and Southern Italy trace multiple migration routes along the Mediterranean". Scientific Reports. 7 (1) 1984. Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.1984S. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01802-4. PMCย 5434004. PMIDย 28512355. S2CIDย 669567.
External links
edit- Arbitalia Shtรซpia e Arbรซreshรซvet tรซ Italisรซ / The Home of Albanians of Italy
- Jemi.it the Arbรซresh web portal managed by the Eparchy of Lungro
- Jeta Arbรซreshe Bilingual magazine
- Arberiaguzzardi Maps of the Albanians of Italy
- Mondoarberesco.it Web Jeta Arbresh
- Museoetnicoarbresh.org Albanian Ethnic Museum of Civita
- Vatrarberesh.it The Albanian Fire
- Arbelmo.it The Italo-Albanian sociocultural blog
- Scesci i Pasionatit.it
- Katundiyne.com Magazine Katundi Yne - Paese Nostro
- E-biblรญa Digital library on the faith and knowledge of the Italo-Albanian people
- Unibesa.it BESA - Union of Albanian Municipalities of Sicily
- Unical.it Universitร della Calabria - Laboratorio di Albanologia
- Treccani.it La comunitร albanese d'Italia su Enciclopedia Treccani
- Albanian, Arbรซreshรซ in Ethnologue Languages of the World
- "Shared language, diverging genetic histories: high-resolution analysis of Y-chromosome variability in Calabrian and Sicilian Arbereshe". European Journal of Human Genetics. 2016.