Arbëreshë,the Byzantine Albanians of Italy

1.Φώς Ιλαρόν(Fôs Ilarón) the earliest known Christian hymn,
recorded outside of the Bible, that is still being used today.
2.albanian song of Nikollë Nikprelaj from Albania
3.Moj e bukura Moré(Arbëreshë song of christian refugees from Greece to Italy
during the ottoman conquest of Peloponnese.

Arbëreshë,are an Albanian-speaking community living in southern Italy and Sicily. These people are descendants of Albanians who settled in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries, after the great Albanian hero Skanderbeg died, and the Ottoman Empire was able to assume hegemony over the region. There was also a group of emigrés from Himarë region in Southern Albania, who left after the massacre of some 6000 Christians who refused to convert to Islam at the orders of Ali Pash Tepelena. This group constitute most of the ancestors of the inhabitants of the villages of Hora e Arbëreshëvet (Piana degli Albanesi) and Sëndahstina (Santa Cristina Gela).

This modern, Albanian phase of the Byzantine tradition in southern Italy began when the Ottoman Turks moved through the Balkans in the 14th and 15th centuries and wiped out the Albanian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Serbian states. The Albanian resistance collapsed after the death of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the chief of the Albanian unsurgency. Rather than serve the Ottoman sultan, thousands of Albanian refugees poured into such diverse Italian regions as Abruzzi and Molise, Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily. Those Albanians from the northern portion of the country - primarily Latin Catholics - were quickly absorbed into Italian culture. Southern Albanians were Byzantine Christians who maintained ties to the Church of Constantinople, which was reduced to a subordinate condition following the collapse of Constantinople in 1453.(http://www.byzantines.net/)

-Dance,Vallë Arbëreshë-Tarantella-

About 10,000 Byzantine Italians emigrated to the United States from 1900 to around 1920. It is estimated that over 100,000 Italians of the Byzantine Rite live in the United States today.

I wondered how Italian the Italian/Greek/Albanian Byzantines were, so I asked John DeMeis, Historian of the Our Lady of Grace Society. His answer was, "They are as much Italian as you and I are American."

If your name is Greco, LiGreci, Albanese, Albano, Marchiano, Miniaci, or begins with "Papa" such as Papalardo, or names ending in "s" such as Reres, DeSantis, DeMatteis, Jacobellis, it is likely that you have Italo-Greek or Italian Albanian "roots." Since both sets of my grandparents came from Sicily, I must have Greek Albanian "roots," as well as Arab, French, Spanish, Viking, German, Roman, etc. Almost everyone invaded Italy; that is why we are cousins to everyone. Many nations have contributed to our character, and in turn, we have influenced the character of many nations, too. Our Italian heritage and culture is unique and we should treasure it and pass it on to future generations.(http://www.byzantines.net/)

Famous Arbëreshë:
Franceso Crispi-Girolamo de Rada-Ernesto Sábato-Antonio Gramsci-