127 years ago, on October 3, 1895, the first Albanian linguistic congress finished its work.
This congress was held in Coriliano Calabro, in the Province of Cosenza, and was widely covered by the Italian and European press of the time as an event of particular importance. The theme of this Congress was the presentation of the grammatical, lexical and phonetic aspects of the Albanian language, of that ancient, sweet and melodious language, which the people of Arberesh preserved and cultivated with love and exemplary patriotism.
The congress took place in the premises of the “Garopoli” high school and 25 congressmen, linguists, writers, poets, journalists and prominent clergymen of the Arberesh church participated.
This scientific linguistic and patriotic activity was closely followed by about 500 participants coming from different municipalities of Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily.
The participants in the Coriliano-Kalabro Congress approved the establishment of the Albanian National Society, the statute and the governing council with the honorary chairman, one of the most important personalities of Albanian literature of the 19th century and the Albanian world, Jeronim De Rada. The Albanian National Society was founded after the Arberesh Congress in 1895.
