Person
Skanderbeg
Gjergj Kastrioti: an Ottoman commander who changed sides and held Albania against the empire for twenty-five years.
- Settled
- From the 15th century, chiefly after 1468
- Where
- Calabria, Sicily, Basilicata, Molise, Puglia and other southern regions
- Language
- Arbëresh — an archaic Tosk variety, recognised as a minority language in Italy
In plain language
The Arbëresh are people in southern Italy whose families left Albania more than 500 years ago, many after Skanderbeg died. They still speak a very old form of Albanian that has changed less than the language at home.
Simple explanation
The Arbëresh are people in southern Italy whose families left Albania more than 500 years ago, many after Skanderbeg died. They still speak a very old form of Albanian that has changed less than the language at home.
On this page
Connected subjects
Related subjects
Subject
The Albanian Diaspora
More Albanians may live outside the country than in it — chiefly in Italy, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
Subject
Gheg and Tosk
The two dialect groups, divided by the Shkumbin river: Gheg to the north, Tosk to the south.
Sources
- Wikipedia.
Arbëreshë — English Wikipedia
· retrieved 13 Oct 2026
Used to ground the deep-research section and as a discovery aid; not relied on alone for contested claims. - Wikidata.
Wikidata item Q4784977
· retrieved 13 Oct 2026
Source of the population, area and elevation figures shown in Quick facts, each with its own observation year. - Wikimedia Commons.
Photographs
· retrieved 13 Oct 2026
Each photograph carries its own creator, licence and file link beneath it. Only public-domain, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-SA files are published.
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