Acquaformosa () is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza () is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), listed at list of ''comuni'' of the province of Cosenza. The province of Cosenza contains ...

in the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Since the

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

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

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

'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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

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

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

is spoken by residents of Acquaformosa, the Arbëresh language is still widely spoken by the local population. Arbëresh is derived from 15th century

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, 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

Notable people

The following are notable people from or connected to Acquaformosa: * Enzo Domestico Kabregu, painter * , literary critic and academic

References

{{authority control Arbëresh settlements Cities and towns in Calabria