by Preveza Abrashi
With Albania Tarantina (also: Albania Tarentina , “Tarentine Albania”) historians refer to an area south of Taranto , which belonged to the Albania Salentina in the historic province of Terra d’Otranto and in the 1470-1530 settlements of Albanian soldiers and refugees (which before the conquest of Albania by the Muslim Ottomans fled) were founded. The descendants of these settlers belong to the ethnic minority of Arbëresh , which in Italy protected by Law No 482 of 15 December 1999 on the protection of the historical linguistic minorities.
The Albania Tarantina included 14 settlements. The first Albanian settlement, which originated in Tarentine, was Faggiano around 1476. 1507 received the Stratiotekapitän Lazzaro Mattes (or Lazaro Mathes) for his services to the crown of Ferdinand III. , King of Naples , the ” Casali “Roccaforzata , San Martino (extinct) and Belvedere (extinct) with the privilege of having them settled by his compatriots.
In 1514, Albanian families from Faggiano founded the settlement Montisparani (today: Monteparano ). In 1517 Carosino andSan Crispieri (now a fraction of Faggiano ), 1518 Monteiasi , 1524 was followed by San Giorgio , 1530 San Marzano and 1540 Civitella . Other settlements were Fragagnano and Montemesola .
Albanians also lived in Castellaneta , Maglie , Martina Franca , Mesagne , Monacizzo , Mottola , Mutunato (today about 3 km outside of Avetrana ) and Palagiano.
References
Coco, Antonio Primaldo. Casali albanesi nel Tarentino: studio storico-critico con documenti inediti. Grottaferrata: Scuola tipografica italo-orientale “S. Nilo,” 1921.
Coco, Antonio Primaldo. Faggiano: primo casale albanese del Tarentino. Taranto: Stabilimento Tipografico Pappacena, 1928.
Dalena, Pietro. “Insediamenti albanesi nel territorio di Taranto (secc. XV–XVI): realtà storica e mito storiografico.” In Miscellanea di studi storici, 35–105. [Relevant volume details vary by edition].
Italy. Law No. 482 of 15 December 1999. “Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche.” Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, no. 297 (December 20, 1999). https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:1999;482.
“San Marzano di San Giuseppe.” In Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Last modified [access date]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marzano_di_San_Giuseppe.
Tomai Pitinca, Emidio. Istituzioni ecclesiastiche dell’Albania tarantina. Galatina: Congedo, 1984.
Vergine, Nicola, and Domenico Viapiana. Faggiano – primo casale albanese. Comune di Faggiano, n.d. PDF. https://faggiano-api.municipiumapp.it/s3/2680/allegati/faggiano-primo-casale-dell-albania-tarentina.pdf.
