Giuseppe Crispi ( Arbërisht: Zef Krispi; 1781–1859) was an

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 ...

philologist and bishop of Arbëresh descent. One of the major figures of the Arbëresh community of Sicily of that era, he wrote a number of works on the Albanian language. His nephew,

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

was the Prime Minister of Italy in the late 19th century.

Life

Born on 30 July 1781 in Palazzo Adriano to the Crispi family, he studied at the seminary of Palermo, under Nicola Chetta. Francesco, son of his brother Tommaso, served as Prime Minister of Italy in 1887–91 and 1893-6. On 26 May 1808 Giuseppe Crispi was ordained as an

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

priest. He was a professor of ancient Greek literature at the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo () is a public university, public research university in Palermo, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although it ...

, a rector of the seminary of Palermo and a ritual bishop of Lampsaco from 1836, when he succeeded Francesco Chiarchiaro, also from Palazzo Adriano, to his death on 10 September 1859. In Palermo, a street has been named in his honour (''via Giuseppe Crispi''). Crispi's best-known work is ''Memorie sulla lingua Albanese'', first published in 1831 in Palermo. Partially influenced by

Conrad Malte-Brun Conrad Malte-Brun (; born Malthe Conrad Bruun; 12 August 177514 December 1826), sometimes referred to simply as Malte-Brun, was a Dano- French geographer and journalist. His second son, Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun, was also a geographer. Today he ...

's studies, it constitutes the first monograph on the Albanian language. Crispi considered Albanian closely related to Pelasgian, Phrygian, Macedonian and "proto-Aeolian", thus an "ancestor" of Greek, which according to him had lost its "ancient features" over the millennia. The monograph influenced other Arbëreshë authors like Giuseppe Schiro, who first possibly used it as a point of reference in his 1834 paper ''Rapporti tra l'Epiro e il Regno delle due Sicilie''. His other publications include works on the Arbëreshë communities of Sicily and various textbooks.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crispi, Giuseppe 1781 births 1859 deaths People from Palazzo Adriano Italian people of Arbëreshë descent Writers from the Metropolitan City of Palermo Italian philologists Italian Eastern Catholics Writers from the Kingdom of Sicily Writers from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Italian bishops