The 40th edition of the Arbëresh Song Festival will take place in San Demetrio Corone, known as Saint Mitri, in Calabria.

This festival is among the first and most important initiatives organized by Italian Albanians to protect and promote their cultural heritage. It will take place on August 10, 11, 12. The festival of Arbëresh was brought as an idea in 1980, as the creator of this event and the jurist Giusseppe D’Amico has underlined, from the rich musical heritage of Arbëresh that consisted of “verses” (traditional songs) quite widespread among young people. In this way, the need and desire arose to produce new songs both in terms of theme and rhythms, enriching Arbëresh’s musicology.

Over the years, this festival has produced hundreds of new songs and promoted new authors and performers in the music market. But at the same time, it has also become the “symbol” and “flag” of Skanderbeg’s descendants, a living and modern community that renews itself in tradition.

/k.s/