“As soon as I walked in the new municipal building, the pictures depicting the narrow cobblestone alleys promptly reminded me of Kruja,” President Begaj said.

“It is great to see how the spiritual connection of Arberesh community with the motherland has been expressed through architecture too. All this, along with preservation of the rites, culture, Arberesh language and traditional clothes is unique,” the head of state went on saying.

President Begaj pledged Albanian state support for the efforts of Arberesh community to preserve language and cultural heritage.

He also expressed gratitude to Cerzeto Mayor for hosting and helping immigrants who flee their countries to escape conflict, violence and persecution.

Albanian President is on an official visit to Italy’s Calabria region at the invitation of the Regional Institute for Arberesh Communities.

The Arbëreshë, also known as Albanians of Italy or Italo-Albanians, are an Albanian ethno-linguistic group in Southern Italy, mostly concentrated in scattered villages in the region of Calabria and, to a lesser extent, in the regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Molise and Sicily.

Arberesh are the descendants of Albanian refugees who fled Albania, and later some from Morea between the 14th and the 18th centuries following the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans.

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