Domenico Bellizzi (1918–1989), also known under the pseudonym ofVorea Ujko, is among the most popular and respected of theArbëresh poets. Domenico Bellizzi was a modest priest fromFrascineto inCalabria who taught modern literature inFirmo. Bellizzi died in a car accident in January 1989.
Bellizzi's verse, a refined lyric expression of Arbëresh being, has appeared in many periodicals and anthologies and in seven collections, four of which were published inItaly, two inAlbania and one inKosovo. Bellizzi is a poet of rich tradition. He is the worthy heir of the great nineteenth-century Arbëresh poetsGirolamo De Rada (1814–1903) andGiuseppe Serembe (1844–1901), whom he admired very much. His verse is intimately linked with the Arbëresh experience, imbued with thegjaku i shprishur (the scattered blood). Though devoid of the lingering sentiments of romantic nationalism so common in Albanian verse, and the standard motifs of exile lyrics, Bellizzi's poetry does not fail to evince the strength of his attachment to the culture of his Balkan ancestors despite five hundred years in thedheu i huaj (foreign land).
His verse collections include:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
