CROTONE Arbëreshe Calabria welcomes the Albanian president again Begaj. A packed program of events was presented in a press conference at the headquarters of the Province of Crotone, in the presence of its president, Sergio Ferrari, of the councilor for linguistic minorities of the region Calabria, Gianluca Gallo, the Commissioner of the Arbëreshe Foundation of Calabria, Ernesto Madeo, the Mayor of Pallagorio, Umberto Lorecchio, and the organizational manager of the events, Valerio Caparelli. The first institutional appointment scheduled in the institutional calendar will take place starting tomorrow, with the visit of the President of the Republic of Albania, Bajram Begaj, who returns to Calabria after a few months to continue his tour of meetings with the Arbëreshe communities who he had not been able to visit on his first visit, which took place last October. The first stage will be held in the charming Arbëresh village of Civita, which opens the tour of visits to the communities residing in the Pollino National Park.
On Wednesday 1 May, President Begaj will reach the communities of Acquaformosa, Firmo and Lungro, where in the afternoon he will officially meet the Bishop of the Eparchy of Lungro, Mons. Donato Oliverio, and then continue into the joyful and colorful valleys of Firmo. A start of the tour that includes a series of institutional messages of great importance, made up of dialogue and mutual exchange, both of a cultural nature and of a socio-economic relationship between Albania and the Arbëria of Calabria. «With the visit of President Begaj, the pact of friendship, collaboration and development between Albania and the Calabrian Arbëreshe community and, more generally, with Calabria and Italy as a whole is strengthened – thus begins the thought of welcome that the councilor for linguistic minorities of the Calabria region, Gianluca Gallo, addressed to the President of the Republic of Albania -. Even more important is the impulse that derives from it in terms of protection and valorization of a unique historical and cultural heritage, symbol of a tradition to be defended from the processes of commodification typical of modern times, to continue to be an engine of democracy and freedom. An opportunity of fundamental importance and great value, to be seized and transformed into a virtuous model.” The stages of May 2nd follow, again in the province of Cosenza, starting from San Martino di Finita and, subsequently, between the communities of San Benedetto Ullano and Cerzetor, where the president will unveil a huge mural and inaugurate the new City Hall. But the highlight of this intense program will take place on Friday 3 May with the celebration of a highly anticipated event throughout the Balkan area: the centenary of Anselmo Lorecchio in Pallagorio, an Arbëreshe locality in the Crotone area which gave birth to one of the greatest personalities which inspired the revolution that led to Albanian independence. High authorities from the Republics of Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro will be present at the demonstration in Pallagorio, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani and the President of the Albanian Republic. To make the centenary program unique, two very important cultural events: a conference on the figure and work of Anselmo Lorecchio, coordinated by the “F. Solano”, with the participation of authoritative teachers and researchers from some Italian and Albanian universities; the concert in honor of President Begaj, who on the occasion will receive honorary citizenship of the Municipality of Pallagorio, by the Fanfare of the 12th Carabinieri Regiment “Sicilia”. Saturday 4th, in addition to the meeting he will hold in San Basile (in the Cosentino area), where he will inaugurate a large statue of Skanderbegon a joyful day of celebration that will see many other communities arriving from other regions of Italy, the second series of meetings between the Arbëreshe communities of the Albanian President will end, not before having unveiled two busts of the national hero, which Begaj has donated to the municipal administrations of Santa Sofia d’Epiro (in the Cosentino area) and Lamezia Terme, to underline his appreciation towards the associative work of the young people of the Zangarona hamlet. «We once again give a joyful welcome to President Begaj – declared Commissioner Ernesto Madeo in his speech – who honors our land with a new visit, which will not yet conclude his tour of meetings of our communities, so much so that he brings it back again with us also in 2025. A sign of great attachment towards the Calabrian Arbëresh people, whom he feels fraternally close to and to whom he offers all his closeness. I am sure that this experience will also represent another milestone in the new path that the Foundation has been tracing for just over a year. Passages of vision and operation that must see all the different sensitivities present in our Arbëria united in a single organism.”
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