Shqiptarët në Itali Albanesi in Italia | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 441,027[1] - 800,000[2] (2019) (First figure does not includeItalian Arbëreshë or Kosovar citizens) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Albanians |
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Native communities Diaspora
Subgroups |
TheAlbanians in Italy (Italian:Albanesi in Italia;Albanian:Shqiptarët në Itali) refers to theAlbanian migrants inItaly and their descendants. They mostly trace their origins toAlbania,Greece and since recently to a lesser extent toKosovo,North Macedonia and otherAlbanian-speaking territories in theBalkan Peninsula. As of 2019, there were 441,027 Albanian citizens living in Italy, one of the largest Albanian immigrant population in any country as well as the second largest immigrant group within Italy.[1] They are adherents of differentreligions and areCatholics,Orthodox,Protestants,Sunnis andBektashis as well as various forms ofIrreligion. Between 2008 and 2020 more than 250,000 Albanians acquired Italian citizenship.[4]
The Albanians in Italy may include among others a long establishedArbëreshë population inApulia,Basilicata,Calabria,Sicily and acrossSouthern Italy as well as Albanians to have migrated to Italy from any territory with an Albanian population in the Balkans and any person originally from theRepublic of Albania. Together with Albanians in Italy were the Aromanians/Vlachs who were considered "brothers" by Albanians.
There is an Albanian community in southern Italy, known asArbëreshë, who had settled in the country starting with the 15th and the 16th century and later, displacementexpansion of the Ottoman Empire. Some managed to escape and were offered refuge from the repression by the Kingdom ofNaples and Kingdom ofSicily (both under Aragonese rule), where the Arbëreshë were given their own villages and protected.[5]The Arbëreshë were estimated as numbering at a quarter million in the year 1976.[6]
TheItalian Peninsula across theAdriatic Sea has attracted theAlbanian people in theBalkan Peninsula for more than half a millennium often due to the immediate proximity which was also seen as the primary gateway toWestern Europe. The medieval ancestors of theArbëreshë people were the first Albanian people to migrate toItaly historically asmercenaries in the services for the kingdoms of theNeapolitans,Sicilians andVenetians.[7][8]
During the 14th and 16th centuries AD, groups of Albanians started to settle in theItalian Peninsula. Their migration stemmed from severe political and social oppression and persecution of Greeks after the death of Scanderbeg and later following theOttoman conquest of the Balkans. Most of these medieval Albanian migrants were descended fromTosk Albanian settlers from Epirus which originally was an Albanian inhabited territory based on linguistic and genetic evidence.
Skanderbeg's Italian expedition played a major role in the increase of the Albanian population of Italy. In 1459 he revived 15 Illyrian and Messapic villages in Apulia. The Illyrians, whose language, researchers suggest, bore striking resemblances to Albanian, had several settlements in Apulia dating back to the 4rth century BC.[9]
As a consequence after thecollapse of communism in Albania in 1990, Italy had been the main migration target for the Albanian people leaving their country. This exodus was fueled mainly by social and economic instability, a looming fear ofcivil war and lack of confidence in thedemocratization process of Albania.
Around 3 weeks after the overturning of the regime, in March 1991, approximately 25,700 Albanians crossed theStrait of Otranto into Italy.[10] Subsequently, in August 1991, another 20,000 migrants arrived in Bari Harbour aboard theVlora.[11] The Italian government classified such Albanians as “illegal economic migrants” and started repatriating them after a period of detention in special camps in Southern Italy. Albanian attempts to immigrate by sea caused the Italian government to deploy a considerable number of Italian soldiers along the coast of Puglia - directly facing Albania.[10]
Italy had been a symbol of the West for many Albanians during the communist period, because of its geographic proximity. Additionally, Albania's past status as an Italian colony might have fueled immigration efforts into Italy specifically.[10] There is also a linguistic connection similar to what attracts Romanians to Italy, as theAlbanian language, although not itself Romance, has a large amount of vocabulary of Romance origin like English or Maltese. Italy reacted to this migration pressure by introducing the "Martelli" law, stipulating that any immigrant who could prove that he or she had come into the country before the end of 1989 be granted a two-year residency permit.
The perception of Albanian immigrants by Italian citizens in the period was overwhelmingly negative. Italian media in the 1990s played a large part in devaluing and inferiorizing the Albanian immigrants.[10] A quantitative analysis of the frequency of words occurring in news articles within the early 1990s revealed that articles mentioning Albanians were positively correlated with the occurrence of words conveying negative sentiment. Therefore, articles mentioning Albanians were more likely to have news about organized crime and other activities with an illicit connotation.[12] There were also instances where newspapers propagated misinformation: such as linking the cholera outbursts in Bari with the inflow of refugees from Albania.[10]
From March 1997 following the outbreak of theAlbanian unrest, Italy instituted a strict patrol of the Adriatic in an attempt to curb Albanian immigration. As a result, many Albanian immigrants in Italy do not have a legal status. Out of an estimated 150,000 Albanian immigrants in Italy in 1998, only some 82,000 were registered with authorities. In total there are 800,000 Albanians in Italy.[2] Italy also took efforts to alleviate the plight of Albanians in Albania. As a response to the Albanian political and refugee crisis in April 1997, in association with the United Nations, Italy ledOperation Alba, a military-humanitarian mission involving 6000 Italian personnel. It was undertaken in order to deliver aid to the Albanian people.[10]
The Italian Government has housed significant numbers of Albanians from Kosovo in the Arbëresh settlements, most notably inPiana degli Albanesi in Sicily.
Theregions with the most significant concentration of the modern Albanian population areEmilia-Romagna,Friuli-Venezia Giulia,Lombardy,Tuscany,Piedmont andVeneto predominantly in thenortheastern,northwestern andcentral region ofItaly. The least number are to be found inAosta Valley,Basilicata,Molise andSardinia. Though in contrast, the medievalAlbanian population is geographically distributed in Basilicata,Calabria andSicily mostly insouthern region of Italy.[13]
The Albanian population of Italy, only the Albanians with Albaniannationality, has noted a steady increase in the recent years especially during thefall of communism in the 1990s and the beginnings of the 21st century.[14][15][4] It has doubled between 2003 and 2009 from 216,582 to 441,396 constituting a total increase of 103,8%.[16] During the period between from 2014 to 2018, the population decreased by approximately 11% from 482,627 to 440 465.[16]
This decrease can be explained by noting that between 2008 and 2020 more than 250,000 Albanians acquired Italian citizenship;[4] thus, now they are counted as Italians and not as Albanians on Italian statistics .
The distribution ofAlbanians (foreigners only) inItaly as of 2019:[1]
| Region |  Albanian nationals |  Kosovan nationals |
|---|---|---|
 Aosta Valley | 735 | 5 |
 Abruzzo | 11,830 | 1,612 |
 Apulia | 22,733 | 185 |
 Basilicata | 1,956 | 13 |
 Calabria | 2,940 | 62 |
 Campania | 7,064 | 136 |
 Emilia-Romagna | 57,969 | 2,470 |
 Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 9,588 | 3,519 |
 Lazio | 24,454 | 1,827 |
 Liguria | 21,866 | 393 |
 Lombardy | 92,332 | 8,400 |
 Marche | 15,863 | 917 |
 Molise | 807 | 173 |
 Piedmont | 40,919 | 622 |
 Sardinia | 682 | 37 |
 Sicily | 9,062 | 79 |
 Toscana | 62,066 | 5,608 |
 Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol | 11,310 | 3,273 |
 Umbria | 13,093 | 644 |
 Veneto | 33,758 | 10,533 |
 Italy | 441,027 | 40,508 |
TheAlbanian people and so the Albanian people of Italy traditionally adhere to differentreligiousfaiths andbeliefs. They are traditionally bothChristians andMuslims,Catholics andOrthodox,Bektashis andSunnis but also to a lesser extentEvangelists,Protestants,Jews ornon-religious, perhaps constituting the most religiously diverse people ofEurope.[17]
One religious group unique to Albanians in Italy is theItalo-Albanian Catholic Church, created for theArbëreshë people
In the years 2011 and 2012 theISTAT made a survey regarding the religious affiliation among the immigrants in Italy, the religion of the Albanian people in Italy were as follows:[3]
Selected people:
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