Pino Cacozza (Giuseppe Cacozza – Zef Kakoca), Arbëresh poet and songwriter, was born in the village of Saint Mitri (Italian: San Demetrio Corone) in Calabria. He studied at the College of Saint Adrian in Saint-Mitri (Calabri) and graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Calabria (1980), specializing in French, Albanian and English language and civilization. As an author, composer and singer, he won the Arbëresh Song Festival six times (for which he was the artistic director for four editions). Pino Cacozza became known to the Albanian public at the beginning of 1977. He has participated in several activities, such as the Folkloric Festival of Gjirokastra, as well as the first Arbëresh to participate as a competitor in the Albanian National Festival in 1992, where he was ranked among places of honor in the classification. In 2015, the President of the Republic of Albania honored him with the title “Naim Frashëri“, for his values and contribution as a writer and composer for the benefit of his compatriots and beyond, keeping alive a great tradition of Albanian literature and culture in general. . He passed away in 2021. (Photo: Pino Cacozza)
Graphic processing: AHCF
