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Italo Albanian

Italo Albanians

In the summer of 2009, I found this post online from 2000 by a Professor John Corina of Oxford University:

"Based in Oxford, England I am researching the Corina surname (originally Italy) worldwide. The Corina families in Acri are Italo-Albanian, with migrant links chiefly to the US, Argentina and the UK. Other Corina families are 'Greci' speakers in the Salentine. Inter-marriage with non Greek rite Italian Catholics was rare. They are all ultimately traceable as descendents of Skanderbeg's warriors, arriving in Italy between 1467-1480..."

I tried to find out how to get in touch with Professor Corina, but unfortunately, all I found was an obituary in 2001. So, I started to do some research on my own.

Skanderbeg was a great King of Albania during the mid 1400's who kept the Ottoman Empire from taking over Albania. In the early 1460's his forces went to the Kingdom of Naples (which included Calabria) and helped King Ferdinand defeat Angevin forces (originally part of the Kingdom of France) looking to take over the kingdom. After Skanderbeg died in 1468, King Ferdinand allowed Albanians to migrate to the Kingdom of Naples. It seemed with no great ruler after Skanderbeg, the Ottomans would easily take over Albania by the late 1470's.

The Albanians who left formed some villages in Calabria and Sicily including San Demetrio Corone in 1470 where my Grandfather Corina's grandfather (Angelo Bisignano) was born. Is it possible that he was a decendant of these Albanian migrants?