Acquaformosa ( aae, Firmosa) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it is home to an Arbëresh minority, which is reflected in the presence of

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

's heraldic eagle in the comune's coat of arms. The town is also the seat of the Arberesh Orthodox Church.

History

The town of Acquaformosa was originally the site of the Monastery Santa Maria di Sambucina di Luzzi, founded in 1195, and populated by a handful of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

monks. In 1501, 15 families totaling 22 people arrived from

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. The families, led by Martino Capparelli, Pellegrino Capo and Giorgio Córtese, fled their home country to escape persecution from conquering Muslims from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The Albanians sought permission to build a permanent settlement near the monastery. That permission was granted officially in 1506, in an accord that included payment of grains per head of livestock in the territory. The first child born to the settlers was in 1504. Today, the surnames of many of the original settlers still make up a majority of the population in Acquaformosa, including Capparelli and Buono.

Language

While

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

is spoken by residents of Acquaformosa, the Arbëresh language is still widely spoken by the local population. Arbëresh is derived from 15th century Albanian, as it was spoken when the original immigrants fled

at the beginning of the 16th century. The language has since evolved, absorbing many

phrases and idioms, and is distinctly different from modern Albanian.

References

{{authority control Arbëresh settlements Cities and towns in Calabria