Scripta Mediterranea (E-Journal)

Halpern, Baruch

English

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Filice, Carmelo

Carmelo Filice 
Settlements of Albanian Origin in 
Calabria 
Introduction 
In the last few years there has been in Southern Italy a gradual 
weakening of the relations between town and country. The sepa-
ration between human settlements and their surrounding territory, 
which was determined prevalently by the lack of economic assis-
tance to the area, has undermined the traditional functional identity 
of the Calabrian urban centres. In its historical evolution Calabria 
enjoyed its major moments of splendour and importance when it ex-
ercised a central function with respect to the Mediterranean basin, 
in other words when it had the power to impose on other regions 
its model of territorial organization, particularly during the Hellenis-
tic and Byzantine periods. However, Calabria played a secondary 
role when it failed to adhere to its own natural model of territorial 
organization, under the influence of other economies structured on 
quite different principles. The present study is an attempt to analyse 
some significant areas of the Crati River valley in Calabria, where 
the presence of settlements of Albanian origin has given rise to a 
model of territorial organization different from those produced by 
the local culture prior to Albanian immigration. The Albanian set-
tlements, even though they are tightly linked to the local political and 
economic systems, have produced a noteworthy form of territorial 
organization which presupposes a different relationship between ur-
ban space and territory. An analysis of these urban centres can help 
us to understand the formation of new models of urbanization and 
the urban crisis which characterizes settlement structures in southern 
Italy. 
History 
From the fifteenth to the nineteeth century several waves of Alba-
nian immigration succeeded one another in various areas of southern 
Scripta Mediterranea Volume VII, 1986 
54 Carmelo Filice 
Italy. These migrations were made possible by the close relations 
between Alabanian sovereigns, the Pope and the King of Naples and 
Sicily. The first important immigration took place in 1448, when 
Albanian troops led by Demetrio Reres came to Italy to subdue a 
revolt of Calabrian and Sicilian barons against King Alfonso I of 
Aragon. Various territories in Sicily were thus offered to the victo-
rious Albanian troops so that they might establish themselves there 
and, at the same time, assume a position of leadership in the defense 
against French incursions. Consequently, during this period many 
settlements arose in Northern Sicily. In 1461 there was a second 
expedition headed by Prince Giorgio Castriota Skandenberg, who 
came to the aid of Pope Pius II. The help the Albanians offered was 
useful and decisive, and for this reason they received feudal lands in 
Puglia, which were inhabited and repopulated by Albanian people. 
But the largest settlements were formed between 1465 to 1506, after 
Giorgio Castriota's death (1464), when all the cities and fortresses 
of Albania fell definitively to the Turkish army, and when many 
Albanians were forced to seek refuge in Southern Italy in order to 
escape atrocious persecution. From that time on numerous settle-
ments developed in Calabria both on abandoned urban centres and 
ex novo on territories assigned to the Albanians. In 1534 there was 
a massive exodus from the city of Corone in the region of Morea, 
and many Albanians settled in Puglia, in Lucania and in Calabria. 
The most recent settlement took place in 1744, as the last refugees 
from Morea established themselves in Lucania. 
Urban Structure 
Albanian settlements in Italy, which are typical of the area and 
original in conception, continue to represent a rich anthropological-
cultural and architectonic-urbanistic patrimony in which the aspira-
tion to urban form has constituted a unique example of its kind. 
In fact the Albanian urban plan, generated by successive stages of 
settlement, establishes itself in the urban centres of Southern Italy 
by introducing new schemes and solutions into the local urban cul-
ture. The "rione," which forms the largest portion of the village, is 
delimited by the most important roads. In general the main roads 
which cross the village separate the higher "rione" from the lower 
one. Each of the "rioni" is provided with services of different types 
Settlement of Albanian Origin in Calabria 55 
(church, "cantina," etc.) which make it autonomous with regards to 
other "rioni." 
The closest urban spatial dimension to the "rione" is the "quartiere" 
which forms an identifiable fraction of the urban agglomerate. Phys-
ically, the "quartiere" represents the basic building block of the city, 
since it consists of elements that define urban reality by simple ag-
gregation. In the development of Arberesch (Albanian) villages, the 
"quartieri, each assume a distinct role in the commercial and social 
life of the urban system. The most important characteristic of the 
"Arberesch" town plan is that it is made up of smaller units of the 
urban fabric known as Gijtonia. Underneath the "rione" and the 
"quartieri" the "Gijtonia" is physically represented by an urban mi-
crostructure consisting of a "piazzetta" (small square) with narrow 
"vicoli" (roads) leading into it and surrounded by buildings which 
together form a circular space. The tendency to build along curved 
lines is a new element introduced by the Albanian community in the 
urbanistic- structural system of southern Italy. This circularity is in 
fact an indication of a non-hierarchial culture very often found in 
Eastern societies. The aggregation of the various urban microstruc-
tures creates a polycentric system peculiar to the Arberesch city. In 
fact, even if at times the urban agglomerate can be compared to 
others of a different nature, the Albanian urban system cannot be 
defined as monocentric. The various Gijtonie, in fact, function as 
gravitational areas which, when connected to one another form the 
peculiar urban setting of Arberesch cities. The typical southern Ital-
ian settlements, which have medieval urban characteristics, clearly 
differ from those based on the Albanian system. Since the urban 
centres of southern Italy have inherited pre-roman models based on 
the establishment of settlements on hills and mountains- that is to 
say on strategic locations and in close touch with the surrounding 
landscape- they generally include a wall around the village which 
is an element added in medieval times. Other indications of this 
medieval structure are large walls and fortresses, narrow and inter-
woven roads, and patterns implying political and social hierarchy. 
It should also be mentioned that the economic administration of the 
city is based on a self-sufficient system. The settlement, even if it 
adheres to the Latin orthogonal scheme, offers a very compact struc-
ture with very few open spaces in the urban network. This type of 
56 Carmela Filice 
settlement also includes a potential for growth towards the moun-
tains and fields along straight lines, and this gives he urban plan a 
linear scheme. The result is an urban system with a central point on 
which all of the community's activities are focused. It is to be noted 
that, when the centre is particularly large, the poles- which are all 
always functionally interconnected- become more than one. In the 
central pole, which is represented by the main "piazza," are located 
the ruling powers: the church and the lord's palace. 
Conclusion 
As we have seen, Arberesch villages belong to a very complex ur-
ban conception and are constantly subject to urbanizational processes 
which give a sense of anonymity to the urban structure and disaggre-
gate the old morphology. The arberesch city, even if it presided over 
locations which had shown to be for a long time poorly accessible 
and which local people considered of little interest, in a short time 
gave rise to relations of reciprocal dependency with the territory. In 
the last few years the relation between city and territory has been 
weakened, given the continuous depauperation of the land and of the 
urban centres. The various initiatives of recovery (for example, the 
improvement of historical sites, the "Piani di Recupero," the "Co-
munita Montane," the mountainous tourist-roads, parks, etc.) do not 
resolve the problem but make the product anonymous. As a result of 
this, the most important problem for the centres, which is to find a 
self-identity with respect to the territory, becomes always more diffi-
cult. The rebirth of the city is tied not only to factors deriving from 
the political and social situation but also from an awareness of the 
problem. Consequently, the search for an urban plan to co-ordinate 
the centres of Albanian origin seems more important than ever. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
F. Rossi and C. Filice. Gijtonia. Frama Sud, Chiaravalle: 1983. 
L. Russ. Albanesi d' ltalia. Palermo 1975. 
N. Leoni. Studi storici sulla Magnia Grecia e sulla Brezia. Napoli: 1884. 
C. Filice et al. Architettura e Tradizioni. Cosenza: 1980. 
D. Zangari. Le colonie albanesi di Calabria. Napoli : 1941. 
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Settlements of Albanian Origin in Calabria

Thaniel, George

Dwellers in the Greek Eye(George Seferis and Lawrence Durrell)

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