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 the 19th century who played an essential role in the Albanian Renaissance.

Biography

Life

His ancestors are believed to have migrated from Dibër County. Born the son of a parish priest of

Italo-Albanian Catholic Church The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church or Italo-Albanian Byzantine-Catholic Church is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches which, together with the Latin Church, comprise the Catholic Church. It is an autonomous ''(sui juris)'' particular chu ...

in Macchia Albanese in the mountains of

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

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 ...

, De Rada attended the college of Saint Adrian in San Demetrio Corone. Already imbued with a passion for his Albanian lineage, he began collecting

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

material at an early age.

Career

Literature

In October 1834, in accordance with his father's wishes, he registered at the Faculty of Law of the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...

, but the main focus of his interests remained folklore and literature. It was in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1836 that De Rada published the first edition of his best known Albanian-language poem, the "Songs of Milosao", under the Italian title ''Poesie albanesi del secolo XV. Canti di Milosao, figlio del despota di Scutari'' (Albanian poetry from the 15th century. Songs of Milosao, son of the despot of Shkodra). He was soon forced to abandon his studies due to a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic in Naples and returned home to

. His second work, ''Canti storici albanesi di Serafina Thopia, moglie del principe Nicola Ducagino'', Naples 1839 (Albanian historical songs of Serafina Thopia, wife of prince Nicholas Dukagjini), was seized by the Bourbon authorities because of De Rada's alleged affiliation with conspiratorial groups during the Italian Risorgimento. The work was republished under the title ''Canti di Serafina Thopia, principessa di Zadrina nel secolo XV'', Naples 1843 (Songs of Serafina Thopia, princess of Zadrina in the 15th century) and in later years in a third version as ''Specchio di umano transito, vita di Serafina Thopia, Principessa di Ducagino'', Naples 1897 (Mirror of human transience, life of Serafina Thopia, princess of Dukagjin). His Italian-language historical tragedy ''I Numidi'', Naples 1846 (The Numidians), elaborated half a century later as ''Sofonisba, dramma storico'', Naples 1892 (Sofonisba, historical drama), enjoyed only modest public response. In the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

ary year 1848, De Rada founded the newspaper ''L'Albanese d'Italia'' (The Albanian of Italy) which included articles in Albanian. This bilingual "political, moral and literary journal" with a final circulation of 3,200 copies was the first Albanian-language periodical anywhere. Before Albania had become a political entity, it had already become a poetic reality in the works of Geronimo De Rada. His vision of an independent Albania grew in the second half of the nineteenth century from a simple desire to a realistic political objective to which he was passionately committed. De Rada was the harbinger and first audible voice of the

Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

in Albanian literature, a movement which, inspired by his unfailing energy on behalf of national awakening among Albanians in Italy and in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, was to evolve into the romantic nationalism characteristic of the Rilindja period in Albania. His journalistic, literary and political activities were instrumental not only in fostering an awareness for the Arbëresh minority in Italy but also in laying the foundations for an Albanian national literature. The most popular of his literary works is the above-mentioned ''Canti di Milosao'' ( Songs of Milosao), known in Albanian as ''Këngët e Milosaos'', a long romantic ballad portraying the love of Milosao, a fictitious young nobleman in fifteenth-century Shkodra (Scutari), who has returned home from

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

. Here, at the village fountain, he encounters and falls in love with Rina, the daughter of the shepherd Kollogre. The difference in social standing between the lovers long impedes their union until an earthquake destroys both the city and all semblance of class distinction. After their marriage abroad, a child is born. But the period of marital bliss does not last long. Milosao's son and wife soon die, and he himself, wounded in battle, perishes on a riverbank within sight of Shkodra. De Rada also published the magazine '' Fiamuri Arbërit'', whose first issue appeared on 20 July 1883 in

, Italy initially in Albanian in a Latin-based alphabet invented by de Rada, and later with translations in Italian. The journal, featuring subjects regarding Albanian literature, politics and history, quickly became popular among Albanians and was widely distributed.

Politics

In 1881, De Rada's views on Albania's future envisaged a country split into three units based on religion within a

federal state A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...

. By 1886, De Rada opposed proposals by the Greeks of a Balkan federation and supported remaining separate from Greece as any unification according to him would entail the end of Albanian existence. De Rada maintained a policy of siding with the Ottomans against common enemies and disapproving of anti-Ottoman insurrection viewing it as Greek and Serb foreign influence with the hope that 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 ...

would grant Albanians their socio-political rights. In October 1895, De Rada, along with fellow Italo-Albanians Giuseppe Schirò and Anselmo Lorecchio, organised a congress on Albanian national, cultural and linguistic self-determination that convened in Corigliano Calabro. It was followed by a second congress in

Lungro Lungro () is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of Italy. Lungro is one of the most prominent centers of the Arbëreshë people and the seat of the Eparchy of Lungro. This jurisdiction of the Catholic Chu ...

during February 1897.

References