The Albanian Congress of Trieste ( sq, Kongresi Shqiptar i Triestës) was a congress of

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

held in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

in the period between 27 February – 6 March 1913, organized by

Faik Konica Faik Bey Konica (later named ''Faïk Dominik Konitza'', 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington, his litera ...

and

Sotir Kolea Sotir Kolea (1872-1945) was an Albanian folklorist, diplomat and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Along with Thoma Kacori he has been labeled as the ''Last of the Rilindas''. Life Sotir Kolea was born in the Goricë district of Ber ...

with strong support from the Austrian authorities.

Developments

The

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania ( sq, Qeveria e Përkohshme e Shqipërisë) was the first government of Albania, created by the Assembly of Vlorë on 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignatio ...

sent

Kristo Meksi Kristo Meksi (1849–1931) was an Albanians, Albanian politician of the early 20th century. He was one of the delegates of Albanian Declaration of Independence and also one of the first Albanian diplomats. Early life Born in Labovë in 1849, he ...

as its emissary to the Albanian Congress of Trieste. Baron Franz Nopcsa who participated in the work of the

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, published his notes on the congress that became of particular historical interest. The participants of the congress included

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

, Albert Ghica, Baron Juan Pedro Aladro Kastriota,

Nikolla Ivanaj Nikolla bey Ivanaj or Nikollë Ivanaj (1879–1951) was an Albanian journalist, publisher and writer from Montenegro. He was considered one of the "distinguished personalities of the most conscious Albanian nationalism" and was included in Albani ...

Giuseppe Schirò Giuseppe Schirò ( Arbërisht: Zef Skiroi; 10 August 1865 – 17 February 1927)Elsie, ''Albanian literature'',pp. 60–64/ref> was an Arbëresh neo-classical poet, linguist, publicist and folklorist from Sicily. His literary work marked the tran ...

, and

Terenzio Tocci Terenzio Tocci ( sq, Terenc Toçi; 9 March 1880 – 14 April 1945) was an Italo-Albanian politician of Arbëresh origins. Distinguished for patriotic activities before the Albanian independence he went on to serve during World War II as Chairman ...

. All Albanian colonies sent their delegates, they came from US,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

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 re ...

, and Trieste. The

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

community also was present, bringing with Marchese D'Auletta and his sons. Hil Mosi was elected Chairman of the Congress,

Faik Konitza Faik Bey Konica (later named ''Faïk Dominik Konitza'', 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington, his litera ...

and

Dervish Hima Dervish Hima (1872–1928), born Ibrahim Mehmet Naxhi, was a 19th-century Albanian politician and one of the delegates who participated at the Albanian Declaration of Independence. A publisher, he travelled from country to country, promoting Alba ...

as vice-chairmen,

Fazil Toptani Fazil may refer to: Given name * Fazil (director) (born 1953), Indian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter * Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha (1635–1676), Ottoman grand vizier * Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (1904–1983), Turkish poet and activist * ...

and

Pandeli Evangjeli Pandeli Evangjeli (6 January 1859 – 14 September 1949) was an Albanian politician who served two terms as the 7th Prime Minister of Albania. He was the first Orthodox Christian to head the Albanian government. Early life and career Born in ...

as secretaries. Marchese d'Auletta, one of the main candidates for the Albanian throne, was elected "Honorary President" of the congress. The congress recognized the provisional government set up by

Ismail Qemal bey Vlora Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. ...

and discussed the various candidates for the vacant throne. Among the candidates being discussed at the time were Ferdinand François Bourbon Orléans-Montpensier of France, Albert Ghika of Romania,

Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach (''Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius''; German: '' Fürst Wilhelm von Urach, Graf von Württemberg, 2. Herzog von Urach''; 30 May 1864 – 24 March 1928), was a German prince ...

from Württemberg, the Egyptian prince Ahmed Fuad, and the Spanish nobleman Juan Pedro Aladro Kastriota descent from the Kastrioti family through his paternal grandmother, he was the son of the Marchese Castriota (D'Auletta) from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Baron Nopzsa also proposed himself for the throne.

promoted the congress, in particular to ensure the selection of a prince of its choice. The situation of the

Aromanians in Albania sq, Arumunët në Shqipëri , native_name_lang = , image = File:Aromanians in Albania.png , image_caption = Map of Aromanian settlements in Albania , population = 8,266 (2011 census)Estimates go from 100,000 to 200,000 , ...

was also discussed. In particular, the Aromanians demanded the establishment of an autonomous canton within Albania. It had also been proposed in the simulatenous

London Conference of 1912–1913 The London Conference of 1912–1913, also known as the London Peace Conference or the Conference of the Ambassadors, was an international summit of the six Great Powers of that time (Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Rus ...

that all lands inhabited by the

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Alba ...

in the Balkans be given to Albania to protect them from Greek and Serbian assimilation. However, this did not happen, and the Aromanians were not given an autonomous canton in Albania as they did not live in compact areas within this unenlarged Albanian state.

List of delegates

Decisions

The program of the congress had four points: # Preparing the request to be sent to the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

for recognition of the political and economical independence of the

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 ...

# Treaty of friendship and support of the Aromanian populations that lived near Albanian-inhabited regions and wanted to be included in the Albanian state. # Borders of future Albania # Discussion about the prince

References

External links

Baron Franz Nopcsa and his contribution to Albanian studies
by

Robert Elsie Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore. Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numerou ...

The Congress of Trieste, by Baron Franz Nopcsa with prologue of Robert Elsie

( ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040729045749/http://www.shipkovica.com/Vlerakombetare/kongresiitriestes.htm archived
The text about the congress published on Albplanet.de.tl website, written by Vitore Stefa – Leka
{{Independent Albania, state= 1913 conferences 1913 in Albania History of the Aromanians Aromanians in Albania 1913