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Prior to the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] invasion of [[Albania]], the [[Albanians]] were all called Arbër. After some 300,000 people left and settled in [[Italy]], these Italian-born Albanians continued to use the term Arbëresh whilst those in Albania called themselves Shqiptarë (compare the Albanian word ''Shqip'', present in the local name for the country and the language).
Prior to the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] invasion of [[Albania]], the [[Albanians]] were all called Arbër. After some 300,000 people left and settled in [[Italy]], these Italian-born Albanians continued to use the term Arbëresh whilst those in Albania called themselves Shqiptarë (compare the Albanian word ''Shqip'', present in the local name for the country and the language).


The Arbëreshë, originally lived in [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]] and in the [[Pindus mountains]], were located in what was then [[Greece]]. They are descended from the proto-Albanian population dispersed throughout the western [[Balkans]] (see [[Arvanites]]). Between the 11th and 14th Centuries, the Arbëresh tribes moved in small groups towards the South of Greece ([[Thessaly]], [[Corinth]], [[Peloponnesus]], [[Attica]]) where they founded colonies. Their military skill made them favourite mercenaries of the [[Serbs]], [[Franks]], [[Catalans]], [[Italians]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]].
The Arbëreshë, originally lived in [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]] and in the [[Pindus mountains]], were located in what was then [[Albania]]. They are descended from the proto-Albanian population dispersed throughout the western [[Balkans]] (see [[Arvanites]]). Between the 11th and 14th Centuries, the Arbëresh tribes moved in small groups towards the South of Greece ([[Thessaly]], [[Corinth]], [[Peloponnesus]], [[Attica]]) where they founded colonies. Their military skill made them favourite mercenaries of the [[Serbs]], [[Franks]], [[Catalans]], [[Italians]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]].


The invasion of Greece by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th Century forced many Arbëreshë to emigrate to the south of Italy. Indeed, in 1448, King [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], known as Magnanime (1396-1458), King of Naples, wanting to repress a rebellion of Italian lords, called on his ally, Gjergj Kastrioti i Krujës, known as "[[Skanderbeg]]", head of the Albanian Alliance. Several clans of Arbëreshë and Albanians were deployed to subdue the rebellion. Alfonso of Aragon rewarded them by giving them land in the province of [[Catanzaro]].
The invasion of Greece by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th Century forced many Arbëreshë to emigrate to the south of Italy. Indeed, in 1448, King [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], known as Magnanime (1396-1458), King of Naples, wanting to repress a rebellion of Italian lords, called on his ally, Gjergj Kastrioti i Krujës, known as "[[Skanderbeg]]", head of the Albanian Alliance. Several clans of Arbëreshë and Albanians were deployed to subdue the rebellion. Alfonso of Aragon rewarded them by giving them land in the province of [[Catanzaro]].

Revision as of 22:20, 26 August 2006

Arbëreshë are an Albanian-speaking community living in southern Italy. These people are descendants of Albanians who settled in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries, after the great Albanian hero Skanderbeg died, and the Ottoman Empire was able to assume hegemony over the region. There was also a second group of emigrés from the Himarë region in Southern Albania, who left after the massacre of some 6000 people who refused to convert to Islam at the orders of Ali Pasha Tepelena. This group constitute most of the ancestors of the inhabitants of the villages of Hora e Arbëreshëvet Piana degli albanesi and Sëndahstina (Santa Cristina Gela).

The Arbëreshë were able to keep most of their identity so they can clearly be identified as Albanians. The Arbëreshë are mainly Byzantine Catholic and Latin Rite Catholics, and perhaps unsurprisingly, their language has been influenced more by Italian and Greek than has other Albanian dialects. Their own term for their scattered "nation" is Arbëria.

The emigrations from Albania to Italy and Sicily have continued since the 15th century, and there are now significant communities of Albanians from Kosovo in the Arbëresh settlements, most notably Piana degli Albanesi in Sicily.

Villages

File:Pianalbanesi.jpg
Costume of Piana degli Albanesi
File:Joni 387409.jpg
Married woman's costume from Piana degli Albanesi
File:Festa 034.jpg
Easter costume

The Arbëresh villages have two names, an Italian one and a native Arbërisht name by which villagers know the place. The Arbëresh villages are divided into small "islands" in the areas of the south of Italy:

Language

The language of the Arbëresh is called Arbërisht. There is no official political, administrative or cultural structure which represents the Arbëresh community. Arbërisht 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 regional level, however, Albanian 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 Albanian and Greek 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 ethnic Albanian communities and have agreed to the erection of bilingual road signs [1]. There are associations that try to protect the culture, particularly in the Province of Cosenza. The Arbëresh language is used in some private radios and publications. The fundamental laws of the areas of Molise, Basilicata and Calabria make reference to the Arbëresh language and culture, but the Arbëresh people still feel that their culture is threatened. Nevertheless, the increase in training in the use of the written language has given some hope for continuity of this culture. It is important to note that the Arbëresh dialect is not a regional "dialect" of Italian, it is a dialect of Albanian (shqip).

The Arbërish language is of particular interest to students of modern Albanian language as it represents the sounds, grammar and vocabulary of pre-Ottoman Albania. In fact, Arbërisht was the name of the Albanian language used in Albania prior to the Turkish invasion in the 16th century; as was the country itself called Arbëria.

It is said that a Shqiptar listening to or reading Arbërisht is similar to a modern English speaker listening to or reading Shakespearean English.

History

Prior to the Ottoman invasion of Albania, the Albanians were all called Arbër. After some 300,000 people left and settled in Italy, these Italian-born Albanians continued to use the term Arbëresh whilst those in Albania called themselves Shqiptarë (compare the Albanian word Shqip, present in the local name for the country and the language).

The Arbëreshë, originally lived in Epirus and in the Pindus mountains, were located in what was then Albania. They are descended from the proto-Albanian population dispersed throughout the western Balkans (see Arvanites). Between the 11th and 14th Centuries, the Arbëresh tribes moved in small groups towards the South of Greece (Thessaly, Corinth, Peloponnesus, Attica) where they founded colonies. Their military skill made them favourite mercenaries of the Serbs, Franks, Catalans, Italians and Byzantines.

The invasion of Greece by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th Century forced many Arbëreshë to emigrate to the south of Italy. Indeed, in 1448, King Alfonso V of Aragon, known as Magnanime (1396-1458), King of Naples, wanting to repress a rebellion of Italian lords, called on his ally, Gjergj Kastrioti i Krujës, known as "Skanderbeg", head of the Albanian Alliance. Several clans of Arbëreshë and Albanians were deployed to subdue the rebellion. Alfonso of Aragon rewarded them by giving them land in the province of Catanzaro.

In 1450, another force of Arbëresh intervened in Sicily and was established close to Palermo. Thus, the Arbëreshë contributed to the creation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

At the time of the War of succession of Naples, Ferdinand of Aragon again called on Arbëresh forces against the Franco-Italian armies, and Skanderbeg disembarked in 1461 in Brindisi. After having achieved success, the Arbëresh accepted land in Puglia, while Skanderbeg returned to organize Albanian resistance to the Turks, who had invaded Albania between 1468 and 1492. Part of the Arbëresh population emigrated to southern Italy, where the Kingdom of Naples granted other villages to them (Puglia, Molise, Calabria and Sicily).

A further wave of emigration, between 1500 and 1534, relates to Arbëreshë 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 Italy of the South to reinforce defense again the threat of Turkish invasion. Established in insular villages (which enabled them to maintain their culture until the 20th Century), Arbëreshë were, traditionally, soldiers for the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice, from the Wars of Religion to the Napoleonic invasion.

The final wave of Arbëreshë was in the 18th century with a group of Himariots (from the village of Himarë near Sarandë in southern Albania. These Himariots were fleeing a massacre instigated by Ali Pasha Tepelena, who has slaughtered 6000 Christian Albanians for refusing to convert to Islam. These refugees settled in Hora e Arbëreshëvet (Piana degli Albanesi) and subsequently founded the village of Sëndahstina (Santa Cristina Gelá).

The wave of migration from southern Italy to the Americas in 1900-10 depopulated approximately half of the Arbëreshë villages, and subjected the population to the risk of cultural disappearance, despite the beginning of a cultural and artistic revival in the 19th Century.

More recently there has been a wave of immigration into Arbëreshë villages by Kosovars and Shqiptar Albanians. Many differences are apparent between the new immigrants and the old diaspora in these villages, but there is still a sense of familiarity between them, who refer to each other as Na Jemi Kushërirë, Gjaku jin i shprishur. (we are cousins, our blood is scattered)

The main streets of many Arbëresh villages are named Via Giorgio Castriota after Skanderbeg.

External links

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