The Arbëresh College of St. Adrian, in Italy (1732–1919), was opened. This was an important educational and cultural center of the Italian Arbëresh. It was hatched, at first, in the village of Saint Benedhit (San Benedetto Ullano) in Cozenza. In 1794, it was placed in the building of the Monastery of Saint Adrian, in the village of San Demetrio Corone (San Demetrio Corone). Almost all writers and activists from Calabria and Basilicata were educated here, including Pasquale Bafa, Domenico Mauro, Jul Variboba, Zef Serembe, Jeronim De Rada, etc. In 1849, the chair of the comparative Albanian language was founded in this institute, under the direction of De Rada, thus marking the beginning of the teaching of the Albanian language for Albanian students. The institute was closed in 1852, to be reopened with De Rada’s efforts in 1889. The college also had a rich library. In the years 1898-1919, more than 100 Albanian intellectuals were educated in this institution. (In the photo: The exterior view of the College of St. Adrian, Italy.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1208.
Photo: © https://www.vaticannews.va/
Graphic processing: AHCF
