On Scanderbeg’s footsteps 2025 : On Scanderbeg’s footsteps. Castriotian Itineraries and Arbëreshe Cultures in Southern Italy

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Centro di Cultura e Storia Amalfitana organizes an International Conference

On Scanderbeg’s footsteps.
Castriotian Itineraries and Arbëreshe
Cultures in Southern Italy
Gragnano and Amalfi
20, 21, 22 November 2025

General presentation
The Centro di Cultura e Storia Amalfitana (CCSA, founded in 1975) celebrates its 50th anniversary. The cultural events commemorating this anniversary will take place throughout the year, culminating in November 2025 in a threefold event dedicated to Albania and the Arbëreshe culture in Southern Italy.
The project was conceived around the upcoming publication of the first critical edition in Italian of the Scanderbeide by Margherita Sarrocchi (Gragnano 1560 – Rome 1617) (CCSA edition in printed and in digital version). The work will be presented during the Conference along with a Bibliographical Exhibition in the Municipal Library of Gragnano (NA), where the 1623 edition of Scanderbeide will be exhibited.
A prominent figure in the academic circles of the 17th century, Sarrocchi was the first woman in Italian literature and one of the very first in international literature to compose an epic poem. First published in 1606, it is dedicated to the Albanian hero Giorgio Castriota Scanderbeg and entitled Scanderbeide on the model of Virgil's Aeneid. The CCSA edition gives for the first time the integral text with commentaries to make it more accessible to contemporary readers.

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Presentation of the Conference

The International Conference On Scanderbeg’s footsteps. Castriotian itineraries and Arbëreshe cultures in Southern Italy (Gragnano - Amalfi, 20 - 22 novembre 2025) will explore the geocultural context created following the Albanian migrations to southern Italy after the death of Scanderbeg (1468) and the Ottoman conquest of Albania.
Participation in the Conference will be through selection by the Reading Committee (Call for Papers). The papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings after peer review. The invitation to participate is addressed to researchers, academics, scholars and professionals of the disciplinary areas of interest of the Conference, with particular reference to the following:

- Albanistics
- Comparative studies
- History and historiography
- Art and architecture
- Social sciences

The Conference encourages the submission of contributions that explore the Arbërëshe culture in Southern Italy from various perspectives, including those listed below.
- Oral and written literature. Authors and sources of the Arbërëshe literary heritage and its connections with the Albanian homeland.
- Travel literature. The call intends to collect original contributions that analyse travel diaries, reportages or narrative texts by foreign authors inspired by the Arbëreshe lands of Southern Italy. By way of example and not limited to themes such as the encounter between cultures, diasporic identity, folklore, language and the perception of otherness would be options.
- History and migrations. The formation of Arbërëshe communities in Southern Italy, the historical reasons for Albanian migrations and the evolution over time of the communities settled in the southern regions.
- Religion and traditions. The role of religion and rituals in Arbërëshe culture, with particular attention to religious syncretism and traditional festivities.
- Art, music and folklore. The artistic and musical production of Arbërëshe communities, with a focus on distinctive elements of folklore, dance and popular traditions.
- Culture and contemporary society. The current challenges faced by Arbërëshe communities , between modernization, preservation of tradition and integration dynamics in the Italian national context.
- Intangible heritage and collective memory. Conservation and transmission of traditions, family and collective stories and cultural practices in urban and rural contexts.
- Particular attention will be paid to proposals that explore possible “Castriotian” itineraries of tourist-cultural interest in Campania and in surrounding areas, inspired by the figure of Scanderbeg and his legacy in the Italian territories of Albanian settlements.

Scientific Committee of the Conference:
Francesco Altimari (President), University of Calabria; Matteo Mandalà, University of Palermo; Monica Genesin, University of Lecce; Evalda Paci, Akademia e Studimeve Albanologjike; Armela Panajoti, University of Vlora; Arsim Sinani, University of Prishtina; Giovanni Camelia, CCSA; Giuseppe Gargano, CCSA; Olimpia Gargano, CCSA.

Project coordinator: Olimpia Gargano
Coordination and organizational secretariat: Michele Cobalto

Conference registration fee: 150 euros. The fee includes membership as an ordinary member of the CCSA for the period 2025/2026 (including a free copy of the Rassegna del Centro; 50% discount on all publications published during the years 2025/2026) and a free copy of the Conference Proceedings.

Speakers will be offered board and lodging free of expense on November 19, 20, 21, 2025 (3 nights). Hospitality also includes transfers to/from Naples or Salerno Airport or Train Station; shuttle transfers to/from Gragnano/Amalfi; social events currently being planned.

Deadlines and participation procedures

- Communication languages: Italian or English

- The abstract (300 words) must be sent in by May 30, 2025 to the email address:
[email protected]
The abstracts will include a title, a brief description of the contents and the main conclusions, and will be accompanied by a brief biography of the author. The contributions must be unpublished.

- The outcome of the selection will be communicated by June 14, 2025. Participation in the Conference will be validated upon receipt of the registration fee of 150 euros, to be paid according to the methods that will be indicated upon acceptance of the abstract.

- Given the necessarily limited number foreseen for the selection of participants in the Conference, once the available places have been filled, the Scientific Committee may select some more submissions of particular interest and originality for publication in the Proceedings.

- The presentation of the papers will have a maximum duration of 20 minutes. At the end of each session (morning and afternoon) there will be a 30-minute discussion time.

- Submission of the contributions to be peer reviewed for publication in the Conference Proceedings: April 30, 2026