On April 4, 1931, in Saint Japku (San Giaccomo di Cerzeto) in Calabria, Carmelo Candreva (1931–1982), writer and teacher of Arbëresh origin, was born. He studied as an autodidact and distinguished himself as an activist of today’s cultural and intellectual movement of the Arbëresh of Italy; he contributed to the advancement of teaching Albanian in the Arbëresh settlements. Together with Carmine Stamile, he also published an extensive study entitled “Sprovë didaktike në një mjedis dygjuhësh Arbëresh” (“Didactic experiment in a bilingual Arbëresh environment”) (1979), where the right of Arbëresh people to preserve their mother tongue and teach it in their schools is argued. Carmelo Candreva’s poetry stands out for its patriotic themes and freshness of inspiration. He published the poetic volumes: “Shpirti i Arbërit rron” (“The spirit of Arbër lives on”) (1976), “Shpirti i Arbërit rron, Arbëreshi tregon” (“The spirit of Arbër lives, the Arbëresh tells”), II (1977) and “Shpirti i Arbërit rron, vuan dega e hershme” (“The spirit of the Arbëresh lives on, the early branch suffers”), III (1979). In 1981, a collection of selected poems by Carmelo Candreva, “Shpirti I Arbërit rron,” was published in Tirana. (In the photo: The cover of the book Shpirti i Arbërit rron, vuan dega e hershme”.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1105.
Photo: © Xhoxhi L., personal archive
Graphic processing: AHCF
