Domenico Bellizzi (1918–1989), also known under the pseudonym of Vorea Ujko, is among the most popular and respected of the
Arbëresh poets. Domenico Bellizzi was a modest priest from
Frascineto
Frascineto ( aae, Frasnita) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. ...
in
Calabria
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who taught modern literature in
Firmo
Firmo ( aae, Ferme; Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europ ...
. Bellizzi died in a car accident in January 1989.
Bellizzi's verse, a refined lyric expression of Arbëresh being, has appeared in many periodicals and anthologies and in seven collections, four of which were published in
Italy, two in
Albania and one in
Kosovo. Bellizzi is a poet of rich tradition. He is the worthy heir of the great nineteenth-century Arbëresh poets
Girolamo De Rada (1814–1903) and
Giuseppe Serembe
Giuseppe Serembe ( Arbërisht: Zef Serembe; 6 March 1844 – 31 December 1901) was an Arbëresh lyric poet. He has left some of the best poetry collections in Albanian in the 19th century. The atmosphere of despair and tragedy that haunted him thr ...
(1844–1901), whom he admired very much. His verse is intimately linked with the Arbëresh experience, imbued with the ''gjaku i shprishur'' (the scattered blood). Though devoid of the lingering sentiments of romantic nationalism so common in Albanian verse, and the standard motifs of exile lyrics, Bellizzi's poetry does not fail to evince the strength of his attachment to the culture of his Balkan ancestors despite five hundred years in the ''dheu i huaj'' (foreign land).
His verse collections include:
* ''Zgjimet e gjakut'', Castrovillari s.a. (The awakening of the blood);
* ''Kosovë'', Cosenza 1973 (Kossovo);
* ''Mote moderne'', Schiavonea 1976 (Modern times);
* ''Ankth'', Priština 1979 (Anguish);
* ''Stinët e mia'', Corigliano Calabro Stazione 1980 (My seasons);
* ''Këngë arbëreshe'', Tirana 1982 (Arbëresh songs);
* ''Burimi'', Tirana 1985 (The source);
* ''Hapma derën, zonja mëmë'', Tirana 1990 (Open the door, mother).
External links
Albanian literature from Robert Elsie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellizzi, Domenico
1918 births
1989 deaths
Albanian-language writers
Albanian-language poets
Italian people of Arbëreshë descent
20th-century poets
Italian poets