The Arbëreshë (; ; ), 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).
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 food, still zealously preserved, with the awareness of belonging to a specific ethnic group.
Over the centuries, the Arbëreshë have managed to maintain and develop their identities, thanks to their cultural value exercised mainly by the religious communities of the Byzantine Rite.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. Nowadays, most of the fifty Arbëreshë communities are adherents to the Italo-Albanian Church, an Eastern Catholic Church. They belong to two eparchies, the Lungro, for the Arbëreshë of Continental Italy, the Piana degli Albanesi, for the Arbëreshë 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 Arbëreshë community.
The Arbëreshë speak Arbërisht, an old variant of the Albanian language which derives from the Tosk Albanian spoken in central-southern Albania and Epirus.It is of particular interest as it retains speech sounds, morphosyntactic and vocabulary elements of the language spoken in pre-Ottoman Albania. In Italy the Albanian Arbëresh language is protected by law number 482/99, concerning the protection of the historic linguistic minorities.
The Arbëreshë 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, and 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.Essays on Politics and Society Author Hasan Jashari Publisher lulu.com, 2015 , p. 64.Fiorenzo Toso, Lingue d'Europa. La pluralità linguistica dei Paesi europei fra passato e presente, Roma, Baldini & Castoldi, 2006, p. 90. When speaking about their "nation", Arbëresh use the term Arbëria, a loose geographical term for the scattered villages in southern Italy which use Arbëresh language.
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 Arbëresh people has been submitted to the UNESCO as a living human and social intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the Government of Albania.Arbëreshët kërkojnë të anëtarësohen në UNESCO
Distribution
The Arbëresh villages maintain two or three names, an Italian one as well as one or two native Arbëresh names by which villagers know the place. The Arbëreshë 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 Arbëreshë origin and culture, 41 municipalities and 9 villages, spread across seven regions of southern Italy, forming a population of about 100,000. 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 Arbëreshë traditions alive.
The full list of the Arbëresh Communities in Italy is:
Abruzzo Province of Pescara Villa Badessa (frazione of Rosciano): Badhesa Molise Province of Campobasso Campomarino: Këmarini Montecilfone: Munxhufuni Portocannone: Portkanuni Ururi: Rùri Campania Province of Avellino Greci: Katundi Apulia Province of Foggia Casalvecchio di Puglia: Kazallveqi Chieuti: Qefti Provincia di Taranto San Marzano di San Giuseppe: Shën Marcani Basilicata Province of Potenza Barile: Barilli Ginestra: Zhura Maschito: Mashqiti Rionero in Vulture: A-Rionero San Costantino Albanese: Shën Kostandini Arbëresh San Paolo Albanese: Shën Pali Arbëresh Calabria Province of Catanzaro Andali: Andalli Caraffa di Catanzaro: Garafa Marcedusa: Marçëdhuza Vena di Maida (frazione of Maida): Vina Zagarise: Zagari Province of Cosenza Acquaformosa: Firmoza Cantinella (frazione of Corigliano-Rossano): Kantinela Cerzeto (in the commune of Cerzeto): Qana Castroregio: Kastërnexhi Cavallerizzo (frazione of Cerzeto): Kajverici Civita: Çifti Eianina (frazione of Frascineto): Purçìll 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: Pllatëni San Basile: Shën Vasili San Benedetto Ullano: Shën Benedhiti Santa Caterina Albanese: Picilia San Cosmo Albanese: Strihàri San Demetrio Corone: Shën Mitri San Giorgio Albanese: Mbuzati San Giacomo di Cerzeto (frazione of Cerzeto): Shën Japku San Martino di Finita: Shën Mërtiri Santa Sofia d'Epiro: Shën Sofia Spezzano Albanese: Spixana Vaccarizzo Albanese: Vakarici Province of Crotone Carfizzi: Karfici Pallagorio: Puhëriu San Nicola dell'Alto Shën Kolli Sicily Province of Catania Biancavilla: Callìcari Province of Palermo Contessa Entellina: Kuntisa Piana degli Albanesi: Hora e Arbëreshëvet Santa Cristina Gela: Sëndahstina
Community of Albanian origin More 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 Arbëresh: 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 (Çervikat), Mongrassano (Mungrasana), Rota Greca (Rrota), San Lorenzo del Vallo (Sullarënxa '), Sartano, Serra d'Aiello (Serrë, CS), Amato, Arietta (Arjèta), fraction of Petronà, Gizzeria (Jacaria) and the hamlets Mortilla (Mortilë) and Gizzeria Lido (Zalli i Jacarisë), Zagarise, Zangarona (Xingarona), fraction of Lamezia Terme, (CZ); for Sicily they are Mezzojuso (Munxifsi), Palazzo Adriano (Pallaci, PA), Sant'Angelo Muxaro (Shënt'Ëngjëlli, AG), Biancavilla (Callìcari), Bronte (Brontë), San Michele di Ganzaria(Shën 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 Arbëreshe 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 Relevant 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 keep the Arbëreshë language and traditions alive.
Since 1990, with the fall of the post-Bolshevik communist regime in Albania, significant communities of shqiptarë (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 Ethnonym
In the Middle Ages, the native Albanians in the area of Albania called their country Arbëri or Arbëni and referred to themselves as Arbëreshë or Arbëneshë.Kristo Frasheri. History of Albania (A Brief Overview). Tirana, 1964. In the sixteenth century, the toponym Shqipëria and the demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria and Arbëresh respectively. Nowadays, only the Albanians in Italy, whose ancestors immigrated from the Middle Ages, are called Arbëresh and the language Arbërisht. The term Arbëreshë and its variants are also used as endonyms by the Arbanasi in Croatia, Arvanites in Greece, and Arnavut in Turkey.
Early modern migrations