The
Battle of Torvioll in 1444 was the first confrontation between
Skanderbeg's Albanians and the Ottoman Turks
The Arbëreshë, between the 11th and 14th centuries, moved in small groups towards central and southern Albania and the north and south of Greece (
Thessaly,
Corinth,
Peloponnesus,
Attica) where they founded colonies. Their military skill made them favorite mercenaries of the
Franks,
Catalans,
Italians and
Byzantines.
The invasion of the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century forced many Arbëreshë to emigrate from Albania and
Epirus to the
south of Italy. There were several waves of migrations. Indeed, in 1448, the King of Naples
Alfonso V of Aragon appealed to
Skanderbeg in suppressing a revolt at
Naples. Skanderbeg sent a force under the leadership of
Demetrio Reres, and his two sons. Following a request of Albanian soldiers, King Alfonso granted land to them and they were settled in twelve villages in the mountainous area called
Catanzaro in 1448. A year later the sons of Demetrio, George and Basil along with other Albanians were settled in four villages in the region of Sicily.
[14]
In 1459, the son of Alfonso, king
Ferdinand I of Naples again requested the help of
Skanderbeg. This time, the legendary leader himself came to Italy with his troops ruled by one of his general
Luca Baffa, to end a French-supported insurrection. Skanderbeg was appointed as the leader of the combined Neapolitan-Albanian army and, after victories in two decisive battles, the Albanian soldiers effectively defended Naples. This time they were rewarded with land east of Taranto in Apulia, populating 15 other villages.
[15]
After the death of Skanderbeg in 1468, the organized Albanian resistance against the Ottomans came to an end. Like much of the
Balkans,
Albania became subject to the invading Turks. Many of its people under the rule of
Luca Baffa and
Marco Becci fled to the neighboring countries and settled in a few villages in Calabria. From the time of Skanderbeg's death until 1480 there were constant migrations of Albanians to the Italian coast. Throughout the 16th century, these migrations continued and other Albanian villages were formed on Italian soil.
[16] The new immigrants often took up work as mercenaries hired by the Italian armies.
Another wave of emigration, between 1500 and 1534, relates to Arbëreshë from central Greece. Employed as mercenaries by
Venice, they had to evacuate the colonies of the
Peloponnese with the assistance of the troops of
Charles V, as the Turks had invaded that region. Charles V established these troops in Italy of the South to reinforce defense against the threat of Turkish invasion. Established in insular villages (which enabled them to maintain their culture until the 20th century), Arbëreshë were, traditionally, soldiers for the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice, from the Wars of Religion to the Napoleonic invasion.
