Calabria, June 24, 2017 – The President of the country, Hashim Tha\u00e7i, who is on an official visit to Calabria, last evening has also visited some localities to meet with the Arb\u00ebresh community there.<\/p>\n
During his visit to Ungro, President Tha\u00e7i was received by Bishop Donato Olivero and together they visited the Ungro Cathedral.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, this visit of yours to this episcopal seat honors the history of the faithful Arb\u00ebresh people, who for six centuries guarded and defended the Arb\u00ebresh language, customs, traditions and the Byzantine rite of our ancestors\u201d, stated Monsignor Olivero, warmly welcoming President Tha\u00e7i, as he said \u201cin the heart of our century-old Arb\u00ebria in Calabria\u201d.<\/p>\n
The President in Ungro also met the Mayor of the Municipality, Guiseppino Santoianni, as well as the Arb\u00ebresh community.<\/p>\n
In front of the communal and religious authorities of Ungro, President Tha\u00e7i spoke about the importance of deepening communication and cooperation between Calabria and Kosovo, guaranteeing them the care of the institutions of Kosovo to mark progresses in the preservation and protection of the cultural identity of Arb\u00ebresh people.<\/p>\n
Further, President Tha\u00e7i also visited the Arb\u00ebresh community in St. Mithra.<\/p>\n
President Tha\u00e7i was received there by the Mayor of this locality, Salvatore Lamirata, by the Chairman of the Arb\u00ebresh Foundation, Ferdinando Nociti, by the representatives of the Arb\u00ebresh Cultural Societies and the residents who had also organized programs with traditional Arb\u00ebresh music and dance.<\/p>\n
In St. Mithra\u2019s Theater, President Tha\u00e7i emphasized that the Arb\u00ebresh people are a unique model of the resistance of a community, that for centuries far away from the motherland still preserve their identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are our authentic, original roots, our genesis, and our origin. You are the unbroken and genuine thread of the Albanian race. In Italy, within a people of great culture, who gave the Renaissance to humanity, you preserved, developed and protected your identity. You have preserved the language of our ancestors, the traditions, faith, rhapsodies and dances\u201d, said President Tha\u00e7i.<\/p>\n
In sign of honor for the preservation of the Arb\u00ebresh language, tradition and culture, with the Presidential Medal of Merits, President Tha\u00e7i in St. Mithra decorated the professor Cettina Mazzei, who contributed to the development of native language education and the protection of the Arb\u00ebresh culture.<\/p>\n
Also, to encourage them to act together with the community institutions on the path of interaction, with the same medal, the President also decorated the Union of the Arb\u00ebresh Associations (UNIARB) and the Federation of the Arb\u00ebresh Associations (FAA).<\/p>\n
President Tha\u00e7i emphasized that these organizations have consistently protected the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Arb\u00ebresh people in Italy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Calabria, June 24, 2017 – The President of the country, Hashim Tha\u00e7i, who is on an official visit to Calabria, last evening has also visited some localities to meet with the Arb\u00ebresh community there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[113,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-visits","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n