Thimi Kostë Mitko, prominent activist of the Albanian National Renaissance and folklorist, passed away. He was born in Korça. For a while he worked in his hometown. Then he went into exile in Monastir, Athens, Philippopolis, Vienna, and, since 1859, he lived in Egypt. He developed comprehensive patriotic activities, in collaboration with ideologues of the Renaissance, such as Abdyl Frashëri, Kostandin Kristoforidhi, Jeronim de Rada, etc.; was the main figure of the Albanian colony of Egypt and undertook trips through the societies of the Albanian colonies. He wrote articles in the press of the time: in the “Zëri i Shqipërisë ” by Anastas Kullurioti, in ” Fiamuri i Arbërit” by Jeronim de Rada, in the international journal of Cluj (Romania) “Acta comparisonis litterarum universarum”, where he was part of the editorial team. He maintained extensive correspondence with patriots inside and outside the country and political and cultural personalities with Dora d’Istria, Gustav Meyer, Jan U. Jarnik, Françesko Krispi, etc. In his writings, the patriotic ideas of the Renaissance are embodied: the call for unity, the exaltation of the nation’s traditions, education in the mother tongue, mobilisation against foreign invaders. Thimi Mitko stood out especially as a folklorist. He collected a wealth of the Albanian folklore from the South and North provinces, but also from the Arbëresh people of Italy and the Arbëresh people of Greece, which he was able to publish, in 1878, in the volume “Bleta shqiptare.” (In the photo: Thimi Mitko)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1741-1742.
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thimi_Mitko
Graphic processing: AHCF
