Francesco Antonio Santori ( Arbërisht: Françesk Anton Santori or Ndon Santori; September 16, 1819 – September 7, 1894) was an Italian writer, poet and playwright of

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 ...

descent. His

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

''Emira'' is considered to be the first original Albanian drama ever written. The main character is a young and innocent girl who becomes a victim. Albanian literature of that time does not present many female characters like Ermira.

Life

Santori was born on September 16, 1819 in Santa Caterina Albanese, an

town in the province of Cosenza, modern southern Italy. In 1835 at the age of sixteen he decided to become a priest and started his training for priesthood. In 1843 he entered the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery of the Reformed Order in

San Marco Argentano San Marco Argentano is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Main sights include the Norman tower, several churches and the ruins of an abbey, Santa Maria della Matina. San Marco Argentano w ...

. In 1858 he unsuccessfully tried to found a monastery in Lattarico, and in 1860 he abandoned monastic life. He continued living in Santa Caterina Albanese, where he worked as a teacher and a vendor of a

spinning jenny The spinning jenny is a multi- spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Sta ...

he had constructed. In 1885 he was assigned as priest in San Giacomo di Cerzeto, a village of Cerzeto where he worked until his death on September 7, 1894.

Work

During his life Santori wrote poetry, novels, plays and short stories. He also adapted 112 of

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

and wrote an Albanian grammar book. Santori wrote and finished his first poetry, titled ''Canzoniere Albanese'' ( en, Albanian Songbook) in the 1830s and published it in 1846. ''Canzoniere Albanese'' is a long

lyric poem Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

dedicated to love and nature. The poem was influenced by

Girolamo de Rada Girolamo de Rada ( Arbërisht: ''Jeronim de Rada''; 29 November 181428 February 1903) was an Arbëreshë folklorist, journalist, lawyer, playwright, poet, rilindas and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of t ...

's ''Song of Milosao''. In 1848 he composed a hymn in Albanian titled ''Valle haresë madhe'' ( en, Dance of great joy), published on February 23, 1848 in De Rada's journal ''L'Albanese d'Italia'' ( en, The Albanian of Italy). In 1848 his bilingual political poem ''Il prigionero politico'' ( en, The political prisoner) written in Albanian and Italian was published in

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 ...

. The poem recounts the changes of the life of a persecuted family during the

revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states The 1848 Revolutions in the Italian states, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, were organized revolts in the states of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, led by intellectuals and agitators who desired a liberal government. As Italia ...

. During his years in the monastery of the Reformed Order in Cerzeto he wrote two religious works. The first work is a religious verse titled ''Rozhaari i S. Myriis Virgkiyry'' ( en, Rosary of Virgin Mary, written in Albanian and published in 1849 in Cosenza. The second one is a 230-page collection of prayers, religious texts and translations of religious songs titled ''Kryshten i shyityruory'' ( en, The Sanctified Christian) published in 1855 in Naples. ''The Sanctified Christian'' contains parts of

Cuneus Prophetarum ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' ( sq, Çeta e profetëve, en, The Band of the Prophets) is a philosophical, theological and scientific treatise written by Pjetër Bogdani, an Albanian philosopher, originally published in Padua in 1685 in Albanian and La ...

published in 1685 and written by

Pjetër Bogdani Pjetër Bogdani (1627 – 6 December 1689), known in Italian as ''Pietro Bogdano'', was the most original writer of early literature in Albania. He was author of the Cuneus Prophetarum (''The Band of the Prophets''), 1685, the first prose work ...

, one of the most important writers of early Albanian literature. Santori included excerpts of ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' in his book to symbolize the continuity of Albanian religious literature. Santori wrote many plays, including

melodramatic A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

comedies and tragedies some of which remain incomplete. His plays include ''Jeroboam'', a tragedy of biblical content and ''Alessio Dukagino'' a melodrama written between 1855 and 1860, recounting the life of

Lekë Dukagjini Lekë III Dukagjini (1410–1481), mostly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century member of the Albanian nobility, from the Dukagjini family. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the ''Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit'', a code of ...

, an Albanian prince who fought against 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) ...

. His best-known play, ''Emira'', titled after the name of its central figure, is considered to be the first original Albanian drama ever written. The drama recounts the adventures of Emira, Kalina, Albenci, and Mirjani during a social revolt in Calabria, and the life in the Arbëreshë communities. Some parts of the play were published originally in the journal ''Fjamuri Arbërit'' ( en, The Albanian Flag) and later in Jeronim de Rada's ''Albanian Anthology''. In modern years, 1,845 lines of satirical verse written by Santori have been found. Most of Santori's novels and short stories were published after his death in 1894. His novels include ''Sofia Kominiate'', an unfinished novel written in two versions. The first version contains 282 pages and is written in Albanian, while the second version, written in Italian, contains 714 pages. No copies have survived from his novel ''Bija e mallkuar'' ( en, The Cursed Daughter) written in Albanian. He also wrote the novel ''Il soldato albanese'' ( en, The Albanian soldier) in Italian. Santori wrote many short stories known by the names of their central figures. His short stories written in Albanian include: ''Brisandi Lletixja e Ulladheni, Emilja, Fëmija Pushtjerote, Filaredo, Gnidhja e Kusari, Kolluqi e Sorofina, Miloshini, Neomenia, Panaini e Dellja, Rosarja'', and ''Virgjinia''.

Influences and style

Santori's works are written in an archaic form of

Tosk Albanian Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...

and are generally more accessible to the audience despite of his orthographic style. In his works he uses his own spelling system without any phonetic accuracy. Common themes in Santori's works include rural life, the period of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë ( sq, Lidhja e Lezhës), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League ( sq, Lidhja Arbërore), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The Leag ...

Albanian history The history of Albania forms a part of the history of Europe. During classical antiquity, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracians, Thracian and An ...

and the customs of Arbëreshë communities. His political poems contain moralistic motifs describing the central ideas and feelings of the characters of each poem. In several of his poems like ''Dance of great joy'' Santori describes folkloric elements of Albanian culture like folk songs and dances.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santori, Francesco Antonio 1819 births 1894 deaths Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Arbëreshë people 19th-century Albanian poets 19th-century Italian poets People from the Province of Cosenza 19th-century Albanian writers Albanian male poets Italian male poets Albanian-language poets Albanian-language writers Albanian male short story writers Albanian short story writers Italian male short story writers Albanian novelists 19th-century Italian novelists Albanian dramatists and playwrights Italian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian short story writers 19th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian male writers

Life

Work

Influences and style

See also

Sources