Petrit Latifi

Aleksa Bogosavljevic, on page 12 of his book “On the Arnauts” (O Arnautima) published in Nish in 1897, writes:

“The third and smallest settlement of 500 people is located in the Istres peninsula, in the village of Peroj (Valley of the Arnauts), which is a two-hour journey from Pula. The Republic of Venice settled them here with its decree. At that time, their leader was Miko Dračković. They have preserved their folk clothing and their customs, they speak Albanian, but they were all of the Orthodox faith”.

So, it is known that the Albanians of Peroj spoke the Albanian language for a full 240 years after their emigration, but no one was interested in them. Albanian historiography was silent and is still silent, as if nothing had happened.

Facsimile from the book “O arnautima” p. 12.

The folk costume of the Arbëresh of Istria from the 19th century (colored).