Anselmo Lorecchio
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Anselmo Lorecchio ( Arbërisht: Anselmo Lorekio; November 3, 1843 - March 22, 1924) was an Italian lawyer, journalist, politician, poet and writer of Albanian descent, founder of the '' La Nazione Albanese'' newspaper, and author of several literary works in praise of the independence of Albania.


Life

Anselmo Lorecchio was born on November 3, 1843, in Pallagorio, a small
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 ...
town in Calabria,
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 ...
, which he would keep strong ties with. Obtained a degree in Law December 21, 1868, at the
Royal University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...
, became Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal of
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 ...
in 1869, also worked at
Banco di Napoli Banco di Napoli S.p.A., among the oldest banks in the world, was an Italian banking subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo group, as one of the 6 retail brands other than "Intesa Sanpaolo". It was acquired by the Italian banking group Sanpaolo IMI (the p ...
in 1870. From 1878 he held various positions within the Italian public administration, including those of "Education executive" and "State property agent"; he also held other positions, this time of a political nature: he was secretary of the Provincial Council of
Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...
1883–1884,
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of Pallagorio in 1892 and delegated (or owner) of several enterprises in the administrative, economic, or judicial field. Lorecchio recruited Albanians from Ottoman Albania for new political publications and received their assistance such as in 1889 to publish ''The voice of Albania''. In 1895, based on an invitation published in the newspaper " The Morning" ( it, Il Mattino), he participated in "The Congress of the Albanians of Italy" held in
Corigliano Calabro Corigliano Calabro is a town and a ''frazione'' of Corigliano-Rossano located in the province of Cosenza, c. 40 km northeast of the city of Cosenza, in Calabria, southern Italy. Geography It is situated near the mouth of a river of the same ...
, chaired 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 ...
, from were came out the Albanian National Society, where Lorecchio was elected vice president, De Rada as honorary chairman and Archimandrite Pietro Camodeca de’ Coronei as president. In January 1897, he founded the magazine "The Albanian Nation" ( it, La Nazione Albanese), ideologically close to the Albanian National Cause.
Ernest Koliqi Ernest Koliqi (20 May 190315 January 1975) was an Albanian journalist, politician, translator, teacher and writer. Biography Born in Shkodra, where he also attended his first lessons at the local Jesuit College. In 1918 his father send him ...
, ''Saggi di letteratura albanese'',
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
, Olschki, 1972, p. 199
In 1898, he published "The Albanian Question. Various writings" ( it, La questione albanese. Scritti vari), a collection of articles from various newspapers locally and nationally as ''Il Calabro'', ''La Giostra'', ''
Il Resto del Carlino ''il Resto del Carlino'' is an Italian newspaper based in Bologna, and is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Its rather evocative name means "the change you get from a ''carlino''", which the smallest part of the Papal ''baiocco'' (no longe ...
'', '' La Stampa'', and many others. On 8 April 1900 he founded in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
on the Albanian National Committee ( it, Società nazionale albanese), which ideologically filming the wake of the old Albanian National Society chaired by De Rada, Lorecchio and Camodeca de Coronei; this committee basically supposed adherence to all the initiatives that they were in favor of the independence of Albania, without ever having to resort to any act of violence. In 1904 he published ''The Albanian political thought in relation to the interests of Italy'', a book that he wrote in order to succeed in some way, in addition to tracking an initial budget of the early years of his magazine, to raise awareness of the Italian government and the general public on the importance of the Albanian question and the interests of Italy in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. During June 1904, Lorecchio along with
Gaspër Jakova Mërturi Gaspër Jakova Mërturi (1870-1941) was a figure involved in the Albanian National Awakening and a talented writer. Mërturi was from northern Albania who had been defrocked as Catholic priest and was an ex- Jesuit. Italy recruited individuals from ...
published an Italian language daily newspaper ''Agenzia Balcanica ed Italiana'' that focused on politics, finance and commercial information. Its aims were "to enlighten the European public opinion" about the rights and necessary reforms for the vilayets of Üsküb, Shkodër, Monastir, Yanina, and
Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. Between 1900 and 1911, through the publication of several articles in "La Nazione Albanese", his voice was heard even more in favor of the nation so dear to him, Albania. He tried in those years to engage in his campaign several famous people, including Ricciotti Garibaldi and Juan Pedro Aladro Kastriota, Spanish nobleman descendant 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 ...
, as well as to gain the support of the Government on the increase in trade relations with the Albanian territories, even offering the mediation of the "Albanian National Society" to Foreign Minister Emilio Visconti Venosta. In 1912, after a few days after the proclamation of independence of the Albanian state and the constitution of the government of Vlora,
Ismail Qemali 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 perso ...
personally thanked Lorecchio saying, "Your wishes for the fulfillment of our common ideals come to us very welcome. We are sure of sympathy and warm support of all Albanians in Italy. Your work as an old fighter will be worthily appreciated by the free Albania." In 1913, he was a delegate and participated at the
Albanian Congress of Trieste The Albanian Congress of Trieste ( sq, Kongresi Shqiptar i Triestës) was a congress of Albanians held in Trieste, Austria-Hungary in the period between 27 February – 6 March 1913, organized by Faik Konica and Sotir Kolea with strong support ...
(27 February – 6 March 1913), which prepared request to be sent to the Great Powers for recognition of the political and economical independence of the Albania, and established a treaty of friendship and support of the Aromanian populations that lived near Albanian-inhabited regions. In the course of events related to the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Lorecchio published in 1920 the volume "Albania: Memorandum for the independence of Albania" and, in 1921, the brochure "Albania is admitted to the League of Nations". The December 22, 1920, he received a letter from the head of the Albanian delegation to the "League of Nations",
Fan S. 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 ...
, in which he also thanked Lorecchio for his work. Lorecchio died in Rome, at his home in St. John Lateran Square, on March 22, 1924; with his death, also the publications of the journal "La Nazione Albanese" ended.


Works

*Abecedario of the Albanian language approved and adopted by the National Congress joined in Corigliano Calabro in October 1895, Corigliano Calabro, Popolano, 1896 *''The Albanian question. Various writings'', 1898 *''The Albanian political thought in relation to the Italian interest'', Rome, Tipografia operaia romana, 1904 *''Albania: Memorandum for the independence of Albania'', 1920


Honours

* Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy - proposal of the Italian Ministry of Interior, Rome, March 30, 1881 *
Honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of the City of Verzino - ribbon for uniform ordinary Honorary Citizenship of the City of Verzino, Verzino, July 3, 1883 * Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy - proposal of the Italian Ministry of Finance, Rome, August 7, 1891


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorecchio, Anselmo 20th-century Italian lawyers Italian publishers (people) Italian economists Activists of the Albanian National Awakening 1843 births 1924 deaths 19th-century Albanian writers Italian people of Arbëreshë descent People from the Province of Crotone Italian-language writers Albanian-language writers Albanian male writers Italian non-fiction writers Albanian non-fiction writers Albanian publishers (people) Italian journalists Italian male journalists Albanian journalists 20th-century Albanian writers 19th-century Italian writers 20th-century Italian writers 20th-century Italian male writers Italian civil servants University of Naples Federico II alumni 19th-century Italian male writers