La Nazione Albanese

La Nazione Albanese
Shkiperia Avanti! (Forward Albania!)
TypeBimonthly
Founder(s)Anselmo Lorecchio
PublisherAlbanian National Society 1897–1900
Albanian National Committee 1900–1924
Managing editorAnselmo Lorecchio
Founded15 January 1897
Political alignmentAlbanian National Cause[1]
Arbereshe Intellectual Movement
LanguageItalian, Arbereshe, Albanian
Ceased publicationMarch 1924
CityPallagorio (Catanzaro) 1897–1900
Rome 1900–1924
CountryItaly
OCLC number235868818

La Nazione Albanese ("The Albanian Nation") was a newspaper of the Arbereshe community of Italy during end of 19th-century and early 20th-century. It covered political, socio-cultural, and informative functions toward the Arbereshe community and Albanians in general. It also covered thematics such as the Albanian National Awakening and state-forming, Italian-Albanian relationships, as well as political events of a broader spectrum.[2] It was founded and managed by Italian lawyer and publicist Anselmo Lorecchio, an Arbereshe from Pallagorio, Calabria. It published articles from Albanian writers and publicists as well.[3]

History

The Società Nazionale Albanese (Albanian National Society) was founded in 1895 out of an Arberesh congress held in Corigliano Calabro and led by scholar Girolamo De Rada. Lorecchio would become head of the society in February 1897,[4] during the second congress held in Lungro. Just a few weeks before La Nazione Albanese had already started publishing and served from that moment on as a press organ of the society,[2] although its official newspaper remained Ylli i Arbëreshëve ("The star of the Arbereshe") published in Corigliano Calabro.[5]

On 18 April 1900, the Società Nazionale Albanese transformed into Comitato Nazionale Albanese (Albanian National Committee) and the headquarters were transferred to Rome. The newspaper moved as well and was published there since then, printed in "Tipografia Dante Alighieri".[2]
The death of Lorecchio in 1924 brought the newspaper as well to an end.[4][2]

Importance

The newspaper came in a particularly delicate moment for Albania and the wider political equilibrium of Europe in that period. Especially the Albanian issue, which served as battlefield of imperialistic interests of Italy and Austro-Hungary. The political essence of Lorecchio's work came into action specifically in this context: it managed to transmit clear and explicit political values to the Arbëreshë Intellectual Movement, and the newspaper that he founded and directed served as the main instrument for translating the cultural aspirations into a political project.

— Antonio D'Alessandri, Roma Tre University[2]

References

  1. ^ Ernest Koliqi, Saggi di letteratura albanese, Verona, Olschki, 1972, p. 199
  2. ^ a b c d e Un giornalista arbëresh al servizio dell’indipendenza dell’Albania – Antonio D’Alessandri (Università Roma Tre)
  3. ^ Gregory Curtis Ference (1994), Chronology of Twentieth Century Eastern European History, Gale Research, Inc., p. 4, ISBN 9780810388796, OCLC 30998957
  4. ^ a b Robert Elsie (2010), Historical Dictionary of Albania, Historical Dictionaries of Europe, vol. 75 (2 ed.), Scarecrow Press, p. 282, ISBN 978-0810861886
  5. ^ Skendi, Stavro (1967). The Albanian national awakening. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 9781400847761.