An Attempted Albanian Settlement in Istria Orchestrated Together with Venetian Authorities (1610‑1612)
Résumés
La région de l’Adriatique se caractérise par des migrations spontanées et des fuites contraintes récurrentes, ce qui a entraîné une redéfinition constante des espaces urbains préexistants et la création de nouvelles villes. Ces déplacements de population, principalement causés par la pression ottomane croissante dans les Balkans, ont déclenché des réactions en chaîne avec des migrations communautaires, conduisant à des chevauchements ou à des déplacements forcés. Cette contribution présente la migration des populations albanaises situées entre ce qui est aujourd’hui le sud du Monténégro et le nord de l’Albanie, qui a eu lieu de la fin du xve siècle à la seconde moitié du xviie siècle, lorsque ces communautés ont quitté la région ottomane de Bar et ont cherché à s’installer dans la province vénitienne d’Istrie. Le texte se concentre sur les étapes de la planification du voyage et l’établissement de certaines colonies entre 1610 et 1612, mettant en lumière les interactions entre les réfugiés, les autorités et les médiateurs.
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This contribution is part of the projects Research Network for Intersciplinary Studies of Transhistorical Deliberative Democracy (CA22149) and Ser Diáspora. Dispersión, conexión e integración de algunas minorías en los espacios euromediterráneos (ss. xvi‑xvii) (GV/2020/078). I am deeply grateful for the valuable input provided by Egidio Ivetic and Darko Darovec before writing this text.
- 1 Sergio Anselmi (a c. di), Italia felix. Migrazioni slave e albanesi in Occidente. Romagna, Marche, (...)
- 2 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Adriatico orientale e il Mediterraneo tra il xvi e il xviii secolo. Abbozzo st (...)
1The Adriatic region has been characterised by spontaneous migrations and almost compulsory escapes, resulting in the constant redefinition of existing cities and the establishment of new ones.1 These population shifts, primarily caused by increasing Ottoman pressure in the Balkans, triggered a chain reaction of community movements, leading to ethnic superimpositions or forced displacements. The already fragile socio‑economic, religious, ethnic and demographic balance was further complicated as was access to local resources.2
- 3 It is important to note that in the consulted sources these clans were never referred to as Ghegs. (...)
2This contribution presents the migration of the Ghegs, Albanian populations located between what is now southern Montenegro and northern Albania,3 from the late 15th century to the second half of the 17th century. The text focuses on the planning stages of the journey between 1610 and 1612, when these communities left the Ottoman region of Bar, until their final settlement in the Venetian province of Istria. It would shed light on the interactions among refugees, authorities and mediators.
3Officially, the reasons for Albanian migration were religious and political. However, from the 16th century onwards, the economic motive to escape poverty and seek a better life became increasingly important, despite the presence of social tensions.
- 4 Frederic C. Lane, Storia di Venezia, Turin, Einaudi, «Biblioteca di cultura storica, 137», 1978, p. (...)
4These refugees did not randomly choose their destination. Rather they selected it in agreement with the government of the Serenissima, which developed repopulation projects for the unoccupied regions of Istria and Dalmatia – then part of their empire – and closely directed the relocation and settlement processes. This was a deep‑rooted practice in Venice, which had a long‑standing tradition of attracting foreign settlers with the necessary skills to meet its productive needs.4
- 5 Such as, according to my knowledge, Nicolò Manzuoli, Nova descrittione della provincia dell’Istria… (...)
- 6 Such as, among others, Egidio Ivetic, La popolazione dell’Istria nell’età moderna. Lineamenti evolu (...)
- 7 For example: Lia De Luca, Venezia e le immigrazioni in Istria nel Cinque e Seicento, Thesis in Mode (...)
- 8 See at least: Giuliano Veronese, «L’immigrazione nell’Istria Veneta tra ‘500 e ‘600: problemi giuri (...)
- 9 In terms of Early modern Istrian history, notable works include Ivetic’s and Darovec’s synthesis. S (...)
5Extensive research has been conducted on the colonisation of Istria, yielding a vast bibliography. However, there are still unexplored areas that require investigation. While contemporary observers had noted this phenomenon,5 since the second half of the 19th century researchers have focused on reconstructing the settlement chronologically and exploring the demographic causes and consequences of chronic depopulation.6 Their works cover a range of topics, including Venetian responses to revitalising areas affected by death and abandonment, the management of migration policies,7 the organisation of this process, and the economic, cultural and political consequences in the short and long term. They also explore the difficulties in mediating between the authorities and both new and old residents8 as well as the wider implications of colonisation.9
6The readings confirm the presence of Istria’s main ethnic components: the urban “Latin” elites and the rural Slavic ethnic groups. Although the historiography has noted the presence of Albanian, Greek and Romanian communities in Istria, they are only mentioned as obligatory items in a list of ethnicities that have passed through the region. The information provided is limited to “when” and lacks detail on the “how”, “why” and their consequences. Analysing these communities adds complexity to the conventional narrative of “Italians in the city” and “Slavs in the countryside,” enriching the understanding of local ethnic dynamics. This is particularly important when considering the cultural, social, and political tensions that emerged between the Julian-Dalmatians and Yugoslavs in the 19th century, which escalated into extreme ethnic cleansing in the last century.
- 10 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione albanese in Istria (secoli xv‑xviii), Nardò, Besamuci, «Entropie, 10 (...)
7Matteo Mandalà’s recent essay partially fills a gap in our understanding of the Albanian colonisation in Istria.10 Mandalà demonstrates that the routes of the Albanian diaspora, at first glance forced by the Ottoman advance, extended beyond the 15th century and the more well‑known destinations, the romanticised Italia Felix of the Albanian imaginary. These routes also included rural and inland areas of central and southern Italy, such as Sicily and Venice and its surroundings, as well as Greece and its islands in the Ionian and Aegean seas.
Depopulation and institutional response: The colonisation of Venetian Istria
- 11 In this province, Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle are the only Istrian towns on Italian territor (...)
8Istria is a triangular peninsula situated between south-western Slovenia and north‑western Croatia. It shares borders with the Italian province of Trieste to the north‑west11 and extends into the Adriatic Sea, lying between the Gulf of Trieste and the Kvarner Gulf. From the late Middle Ages until the end of the early modern era, Istria was divided between two powers: two‑thirds of the region belonged to the Republic of Venice, while the remaining one‑third, a corner located on the north‑eastern Karst Plateau, was part of the Austrian Habsburg archduchy.
- 12 On the notion of Triplex confinium, it is helpful to read the contextualization of Drago Roksandić, (...)
9Venice used sea routes to communicate with its province until 1797, as the land route was blocked by Trieste, an Italian city under Habsburg rule since 1382 with considerable autonomy. To the north, Istria was closed off by another Austrian province, the Alpine region of Carniola. Although the Ottomans surrounded Venetian Dalmatia (the Antemurale Christianitatis), Istria also felt threatened by the Turks. Characterised by multilingualism, this peninsula was located in the northernmost part of what modern historiography has termed a triplex confinium (“triple border”) in the broadest sense. This expression denotes a porous area marked by contrasts and hybridity, with shifting borders, disputed or shared between the Republic of Venice, the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire.12
- 13 Egidio Ivetic, Oltremare…, op. cit., p. 22.
10From an administrative perspective, during the early modern period, Venetian Istria was established as a province of the Republic within the so‑called Stato da Mar, which included the Illyrian cities and islands, as well as the Greek islands of the Ionian and Aegean seas. The region played a peripheric strategic role, connected to the capital and Terraferma through close commercial and political ties.13
- 14 Carlo De Franceschi, L’Istria…, op. cit., p. 348‑371.
11Historian Carlo De Franceschi noted that “repopulations throughout history […] have significantly altered the ethnological conditions, language, and civilisation” of Istria. De Franceschi emphasised this point by giving a significant title to a chapter of his book: “Transport of new peoples, which occurred in various periods to repopulate the parts of Istria that were left deserted after the barbarian invasions, wars, and plagues.”14 The history of this small peninsula is tightly linked to the narrative of the extraordinary migratory movements that have crossed it over the centuries. Most handbooks, monographs – both contemporary and ancient – and academic articles dedicated to Venetian Istria in the early modern era focus on the demographic fluctuations and migratory patterns that have affected the region.
- 15 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta nel Cinquecento e nel Seicento», ACRSR, vol. vii, no 1, 1977, p. (...)
12According to Miroslav Bertoša, the depopulation of this Venetian province comprised a chronic and severe process of desertion of villages and fields, referred to by the German term Wüstungsprozess.15 This phenomenon started due to the high incidence of malaria in swampy rural areas that required deep reclamation as well as other recurring diseases such as typhus and the Black Death.
- 16 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria and the North Adriatic in the Modern Age: Society, Culture and (...)
- 17 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta…», art. cit., p. 141‑142.
13The high mortality rate caused misery and discouragement among the remaining population. They were unable to tend to the abandoned, rough and boggy lands. Factors such as famines resulting from grain shortages or border conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Archduchy of Austria intensified these challenges. In the second half of the 15th century and even in the 16th century,16 the region was frequently invaded by the Turks. This was followed by raids from the Uskok pirates and bandits, who were outlaws of the Ottoman Empire and settled in Dalmatian Senj with the permission of the Habsburgs. These events precipitated a state of great demoralisation among the region’s inhabitants, leading many survivors to flee. Furthermore, additional factors contributed to the Istrian demographic shocks, including fiscal and feudal pressures, soil development, alterations in climate and the decline in Mediterranean grain production, on which Istria relied.17
- 18 Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, De’ commentarj…, op. cit., p. 54; Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», (...)
14Therefore, there was no permanent original Istrian population, particularly in rural regions, due to the departure or demise of the previous inhabitants for the reasons mentioned above. It is noteworthy that the descendants of the first immigrants referred to themselves as autochthonous.18 The communities living in the area underwent a cycle of renewal through successive generations, either through deliberate repopulation initiatives or spontaneous migrations.
- 19 Egidio Ivetic, Oltremare…, op. cit., p. 291‑300.
- 20 The Morlachs inhabited the mountainous hinterland of Dalmatia prior to the arrival of the Turks. Du (...)
15Egidio Ivetic has provided a comprehensive explanation of how ethnic juxtaposition, along with linguistic and cultural interpenetration, evolved through a series of migrations,19 with the earliest dating back to the 7th century. The rural environment of Istria thus consisted of Slavic communities from inland Dalmatia and, to a lesser extent, from regions such as Lika (Croatia), western Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro and the hinterland of Rijeka. According to historical records, the predominant ethnicity of refugees in Istria was that of Vlach or Morlach. The terms had been used by the Venetians since the late Middle Ages to refer to almost all emigrants from the Dalmatian hinterland, mainly from the Zadar area.20 However, these ethno‑linguistic demarcations are not clear due to inevitable mixing and overlapping with groups such as the Venetians, Friulians, Albanians, Greeks and Romanians.
- 21 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’equilibrio nel processo di ‘acculturazione’ in Istria: tra interazioni e oppos (...)
16The dynamics of coexistence between old and new inhabitants could never be firmly established and were constantly being redefined due to the disappearance of some communities for economic and mortality reasons. This was a delicate balance “between exchange and conservation, between repulsion and integration”, between those who wanted to maintain their privileges and those who wanted to acquire them.21
- 22 Darko Darovec, Breve storia…, op. cit., p. 107, and Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit. (...)
- 23 Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 72.
- 24 Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici sull’etnografia dell’Istria», Atti e memorie della Società ist (...)
- 25 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta…», art. cit., p. 145‑150; Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, (...)
- 26 Egidio Ivetic, op. cit. supra, p. 64‑65.
- 27 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 216.
17To understand these demographic changes and collapses in Istria, it is important to note the fluctuations in the number of people over time. In the 1550s, the population of Venetian Istria was approximately 53,000. This number increased to 70,000 in the 1580s22 and it fell to 46,000 by 1600. The population rose again to 60,000 by 1610 but experienced a significant drop to 36,000 in 1625 after the Uskok War (1615‑1617) and a plague outbreak. The population reached its lowest point in the 1630s with only 30,000 inhabitants. Between 1618 and 1675,23 repopulation efforts brought in approximately 10,000 settlers (with a remarkable influx of 5,000 people in just one year, 1647, along with 70,000 animals).24 The population doubled in the second half of the 18th century, indicating increased productivity and the overall success of the last colonisation attempts, which were crucial for economic recovery.25 Austrian Istria was even more depopulated, with only 12,000‑13,000 people at the end of the 16th century. The number was further reduced by 30 percent during the Uskok War.26 The Habsburgs also attempted to repopulate their Istria through projects similar to those of Venice, although they did not succeed in disrupting the territory as much from an ethnic point of view.27
- 28 Michael Knapton, «Tra Dominante e dominio (1517‑1630)», in Gaetano Cozzi, Michael Knapton and Giova (...)
18The areas most affected by population loss were primarily the inland districts around Poreč and Pula on the western coast, described in Venetian reports as desolate and deserted. Colonisation efforts in these counties were aimed at improving sanitation and developing the agricultural sector. Population growth meant strengthening the defence capabilities, boosting regional productive activities and increasing tax revenues for the state.28
- 29 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 218.
19The aim was to create an “anti‑shock cushion” of communities enticed by Venetian protective generosity for an anti‑Austrian purpose. This is why Venetian Istria was referred to as the “shield of the Dominant”. Venice also recruited hundreds of mercenaries from various regions, including Italy, Germany, North Africa, Spain, the Balkans, Holland and France, to fortify the peninsula.29 In this way, the Serenissima intended to secure corridors for the free circulation of goods into the interior of the peninsula.
- 30 Egidio Ivetic, «Colonizzazioni nell’Adriatico moderno (1500‑1800)», in Giampaolo Salice (ed.), La t (...)
20Some historians share the view that the phenomenon of Istrian repopulation was characterised by its long duration, the intensity of the process and the meticulous institutional commitment it enjoyed. It was also the result of extraordinary expenditures, with the prospect of future economic benefits and territorial consolidation.30
- 31 Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 73.
21Venetian investment often failed due to a recurring situation where groups of migrants returned to their former homes once the negative scenario in their places of origin improved or moved again in search of a destination with better prospects as soon as they benefited from aid. This left “colonisation unfinished, decade after decade, like those flash floods of desert rivers that, once exhausted, leave only a few puddles on the ground”.31
- 32 Egidio Ivetic, «Finanza pubblica e sistema fiscale nell’Istria veneta del Sei‑Settecento», ACRSR, v (...)
- 33 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 71‑73.
- 34 Michael Knapton, «Tra Dominante e…», op. cit., p. 352.
22Governing and administering Istria became a particularly “onerous and certainly unprofitable” task, given the demographic, agricultural, warlike and epidemic problems of the region. “The impression is that the Dominant invested much more in its Adriatic periphery than it collected: while it received payment on the mainland, it spent in the overseas dominions.” For instance, the Venetian government seldom revised the loans given to each colonist. Consequently, “the colonists’ debts persisted over time until they were disregarded.32” Moreover, institutional support for immigrant communities, whether economic or logistical, could be extended or resumed, even after many years.33 The recipients of the land, foreign refugees, were poor individuals from non‑urbanised and unproductive areas.34 Venice’s extensive efforts resulted in the continuous ethnic, cultural and linguistic transformation of Istria, especially its countryside.
- 35 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 133.
- 36 On this, see Caterina Zocconi Spinelli, Il Capitanato di Raspo e gli «habitanti novi». Alcuni spunt (...)
23The doges and the senate approved and directed the repopulation campaigns of rural Istria in cooperation with the designated authorities.35 Beginning in 1592, the Rašpor captain, a governor sent from Venice to the town of Buzet, had to receive the newcomers under his own jurisdiction, bypassing the old local courts, and resolve conflicts with the previous inhabitants.36 He also had to distribute land to the settlers according to an emphyteusis system, a transferable intergenerational usufruct that could be passed from parents to children without granting tenure. This system often led to conflicts, since the state, which claimed ownership over these properties, ordered the confiscation of partially abandoned or uncultivated plots that had remained in this condition for five years. The same procedure was applied to houses in ghost towns.
- 37 See Giuliano Veronese, «L’immigrazione…», art. cit.; Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit (...)
- 38 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 139.
24The settler thus received the coveted status of a habitante novo, a new resident, with all the benefits already mentioned, to the detriment of the interests of the existing population. These disputes were not driven primarily by cultural conflicts, but rather by competing claims for the exclusive use of grazing lands, wells (access to water) and forests (access to firewood).37 The tensions between the communities of old and new settlers (and between the urban individuals and rural vassals) often resulted in uprisings, frequently anticipated and carried out by the latter. To prevent such revolts, “Venice tended to satisfy the demands of the new inhabitants while trying not to provoke excessive discontent among the old ones.38”
- 39 Giuliano Veronese, «L’immigrazione…», art. cit., p. 182.
25Giuliano Veronese has raised the question of whether the religious factor could have played a role, or even have been decisive, in the tensions between the communities of old and new inhabitants. This is a legitimate question, given the significant presence of refugees from non‑Catholic regions.39 Indeed, the Republic found it advantageous to welcome people of different origins and religions to Venice, even if it aroused the disapproval of the Holy See and the suspicion of other Catholic powers. The calli of Venice bustled with Uniates, Protestants, Jews, Orthodox, Eastern Christians and both Sunni and Shiite Muslims. While a certain degree of religious orthodoxy was maintained in its Terraferma, with the only exception being scattered Jewish ghettos, in all its provinces outside the Italian peninsula – the Stato da Mar – the Catholic Venetian elites coexisted with Uniates and Orthodox Christians, and, more rarely, Jews (in Split, Corfu, Zante, Crete, to name but a few) and Muslims. The Republic was not shocked by this religious diversity.
- 40 Cited by Darko Darovec, Breve storia…, op. cit., p. 102.
- 41 Ivan Grah, «Izvještaji porečkih bikupa Svetoj Stolici (1588‑1775)», Croatica Christiana periodica, (...)
26What happened in Istria? Was there shelter for non‑Catholics? At this point, based on the available historiographical information, we can piece together a concise jigsaw puzzle. The late medieval statutes of Koper emphasised the need to defray the arrival of settlers, “including people subject to the Turkish lord.40” It is possible that Muslims were unintentionally not excluded from this group (although they were excluded on later occasions). Alternatively, the omission may have been deliberate because the Republic, in keeping with its welcoming tradition, knew how to turn a blind eye or both. The bishop of Poreč, Ivano Lippomano (1598‑1608), assured Rome that there were no “heretics” in his diocese. Nevertheless, he warned against the superstitions that might be spread by former apostates who had become Catholic again. The hierarch pointed out that this “stain” could only be eradicated with the help of secular authorities. However, no Venetian institution supported the persecution of such individuals.41
- 42 Miroslav Bertoša, «I Catastici di Umago e di Cittanova (1613‑1614). La modesta realizzazione di un (...)
- 43 Ibid. supra, p. 113.
- 44 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 218; Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici…», art (...)
- 45 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 147; Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 141, (...)
27The Catholic appearance and the Tridentine dictates had to be respected, regardless of the circumstances. Ottoman subjects were allowed to come, but only if they were Christian.42 Non‑Catholics, including apostates and Orthodox, were required to convert before arriving in Istria.43 Despite this, the “schismatics” were still tolerated. In 1588, the St Nicholas parish was established in the city of Pula for the Greek Orthodox community. The Montenegrin community settled in the uninhabited village of Peroj in 1657 and was granted the freedom to practice their faith.44 However, there are only sporadic historic traces of Islam and Muslims in the region.45
The Ghegs between two Albanias
- 46 Giovanni Botero, Relaciones…, op. cit., p. 68r‑v.
28While Slavic communities in the Balkans were frequently and extensively displaced since the early Middle Ages, the southernmost region of the ancient Roman province of Illyria maintained a certain degree of ethnic integrity due to the natural boundaries and defensive limits established by the Roman Empire. The territory was strategically significant as it blocked access to the Adriatic Sea, opposite the tip of Apulia, in the area known as the Strait of Otranto. Although Albania did not possess abundant natural resources, the geographer Giovanni Botero, between the 16th and 17th centuries, described it as a “beautiful, vast, and fertile region in the north that is flatter, more delightful, and peaceful.46”
- 47 Alain Ducellier, L’Albanie entre Byzance et Venise, xe‑xve siècles, London, Variorum Reprints, “Col (...)
29During the mid‑medieval centuries, local lords maintained a precarious balance in the Albanian region. From the late 13th to the mid‑14th century, the region was first under the weak political control of the Byzantine Empire, then the Angevine rulers and finally the Serbian authorities. However, it was mainly integrated into the political, economic and cultural spheres of influence of Venice and Byzantium, and remained so until the 15th century.47 This also explains why the southern Albanians, who were under the Byzantine Empire, eventually embraced Orthodox Christianity, while those in the north adhered to Roman Christianity.
30Throughout the 15th century, as a result of the gradual expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the Serenissima lost more strategic assets in its Albanian sphere of influence. In the interests of Catholicism, it retained only the fortress of Butrint, located opposite the island of Corfu. By the 16th century, Venetian Albania, as it was informally known, had been reduced to an area that was not strictly Albanian, but rather a strip of land south of Dalmatia, corresponding to the present‑day Montenegrin Adriatic coast. From an administrative point of view, the only officially Venetian territory was the region surrounding the Bay of Kotor, a captaincy governed by a rettore and inhabited by Romance‑ and Slavic‑speaking populations, together with Albanians who had fled from Ottoman territories.
- 48 Jovan Martinović, “Albania veneta o litorale montenegrino”, in Bruno Crevato‑Selvaggi, Jovan Martin (...)
31Venetian Albania emerged as an ethnic melting pot on the border between the Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe, serving as a refuge for the Morlach, Montenegrin, Serbian and other neighbouring communities, which gradually overlapped with the pre‑existing ones, including Dalmatians, Croats and Albanians.48 The Republic managed to keep this administrative core until it was lost in 1797 under the onslaught of the Napoleonic hurricane, with the exception of Bar, a bishopric in partibus infidelium, and Ulcinj, a cradle of pirates of the Crescent. Today they are Montenegrin urban centres with a predominantly Albanian Muslim population. Both were given to the Turks as part of the territorial agreements reached after the Battle of Lepanto (1571). Venetian Albania should, therefore, be understood as nothing more or less than a geographical expression forged by and from Venice.
- 49 Pëllumb Xhufi, «Venezia in Albania», in Bruno Crevato‑Selvaggi, Jovan Martinović and Daniele Sferra (...)
32On the other hand, Ottoman Albania remained closely linked to Venice. In the 15th (and partly in the 16th) century, before coming under the rule of the Sublime Porte, its inhabitants had become full subjects of the Republic of Saint Mark. It additionally served as a passageway for spies and counter‑spies, while Venetian envoys and merchants continued to trade with the ports of Durrës and Vlorë, which were also centres of piracy in the service of the Ottomans. Inland, they traded with Shkodër. In this way, the Serenissima maintained relations with its most dynamic former subjects, who had been Venetianised during its brief reign.49
- 50 Lucia Nadin Bassani, Migrazioni e integrazioni. Il caso degli albanesi a Venezia (1479‑1552), Rome, (...)
- 51 Ibid. supra, p. 42‑43.
33Under the Turks, the elite and the fragile guild sector saw all this capital threatened. Thus, after the Ottoman siege of Shkodër in 1478, Venice decided to admit thousands of Albanians to its lagoon and dominions, through clauses inserted in the armistice between the Serenissima and the Sublime Porte – something that many contemporaries considered a cowardly Venetian retreat. San Marco’s Republic authorities also committed themselves to the Albanian people,50 granting them the freedom to “live under our shadow”. This phrase was repeated by the Venetian Senate in the following decades, as a way to atone for its guilt and clear its conscience. During the first mass exodus, after the capture of Drisht and Shkodër, the Serenissima received about 2,000 requests for help.51
34After that flood of people, a trickle followed. The requests for refuge continued not only in the 16th century, but also in the following century. In short, the city of Venice and its Adriatic provinces offered an opportunity for work and salvation to Albanians who wanted to leave a regime with which they no longer identified. Many seized this opportunity to escape from the circumstances and the state of poverty, whether real, anticipated, foreseeable or merely imagined, that the present or the future held for them.
- 52 Pëllumb Xhufi, «Venezia in Albania», op. cit., p. 49.
- 53 Michael Knapton,«Tra Dominante e…», op. cit., p. 377; Savo Marković, «Barski patricijski rod Borisi (...)
35In Venice, the members of the Albanian aristocracy were granted privileges and pensions,52 in addition to the protection granted to others. In Istria, the Consiglio dei Dieci decided to incorporate the newly arrived nobility into the local patriciate. Thus, the sagas of the Bruti (or Brutti) of Ulcinj, the Ducaino (Albanian: Dukagjini) of Shkodër, or the Borisi of Bar were perpetuated among the urban elite of Koper and with the investiture of manors.53
- 54 Marco Moroni, «Propaganda fide, i collegi illirici e l’Albania», in Ardian Ndreca (a c.di), L’Alban (...)
36After a century of Turkish occupation, Albanian regional changes and its population did not seem to affect the Venetian sensibility when it came to welcoming the inhabitants of its former colonies. In Venetian Albania, the Catholic missionaries observed with concern and discouragement the inevitable apostasies (from Catholicism to Orthodoxy or Islam) or the evolution of Catholic religiosity towards an inconsequential syncretism, while complaining to the Holy See about the deterioration of the local parish network.54
- 55 Ibid. supra, p. 192.
- 56 Noel Malcolm, Agentes del Imperio…, op. cit., p. 49.
- 57 Cited in Artan Fida (a c.di), Relazioni dei viaggiatori ecclesiastici italiani in Albania nel xvii (...)
37Conversions to Islam became increasingly common, either out of personal conviction or to avoid the taxes imposed on Christians. Many others continued to practice Catholicism in secret, although, as the missionaries pointed out, there was no need to do so. In many areas, Islam had spread widely, creating an interaction between the Turkish colonisers and the local communities.55 Albanian Muslims “by no means constituted a distinct caste, and strong bonds of family loyalty continued to operate above religious divisions.56” In other cases, according to the account of the missionary friar Angelo of Bergamo, the Ottomans of the plains called the Christians of the mountains haina, that is, “thieves, murderers, bandits, because they do not want to be subjects of the Turks. They are always at war with the Turks, killing them.57”
- 58 Italo Sarro, «L’azione missionaria promossa dalla Congregazione di Propaganda Fide nell’Albania del (...)
38In 1580, Pope Gregory XIII founded the Collegium Illyricum in the Adriatic town of Loreto to help the hardy Catholics of the Balkans. The college, run by the Jesuits, was responsible for training and sending out missionaries to lead the flock of parishioners. The purpose of the missions in Albania was to remedy the lack of quality spiritual services, since the Albanians had forgotten the simplest prayers, had no access to the sacraments or churches58 and had few and inadequate priests. This led to the risk of conversion to Islam, which offered the considerable advantage of avoiding burdensome taxes.
- 59 Peter Bartl, «Italienische Bewerber um den albanischen Thron: Savoyen – Mantua – Parma», in Robert (...)
39In a remarkably complex ethnic and religious milieu, the presence of hybrid practices and cultural crossovers complicates straightforward interpretations. The Gheg society of the northern interior mountains was composed of exogamous clans guided by an oral customary law (kanun) rooted in a judicial system overseen by a council of elders. This system differed from the judicial mechanisms of the Ottoman kadis and was involved in the practice of blood feuding against opposing groups.59
- 60 Antonello Biagini, Storia dell’Albania dalle origini ai giorni nostri, Milan, Bompiani, «Storia», 1 (...)
- 61 Antun Sbutega, idid. supra, p. 121‑122.
40Faced with a lack of control, the Ottomans granted significant autonomies of self‑government to the neighbouring regions of Old Montenegro (the former Principality of Crnojević) and the Sanjak of Shkodër, taking a resigned and pragmatic approach. As a result, the clan system remained intact, and the area continued to be dominated by Albanian tribes and Vlach nomads.60 Occasionally influenced by Slavs of various confessions, these tribes were not strictly nomadic but were composed of transhumant shepherds who collectively owned forests, water sources and roads.61
- 62 Peter Bartl, «“II vescovato più misero”: la diocesi di Pulati durante la dominazione turca alla luc (...)
- 63 Vincenzo Zmaievich, Notitie universali dello stato di Albania e dell’operato da monsignor Vincenzo (...)
- 64 “The more enlightened Pashas could always see the positive effects of the friars’ presence, especia (...)
41Despite their widespread but uncertain adherence to Catholicism, Ghegs commonly practiced unconventional and heretical forms of marriage, such as concubinage, polygamy and levirate marriage.62 The missionary Congregation of Propaganda Fide refused to administer the sacraments to them; however, within the family and community context, Catholic women married to Muslims continued to profess their faith. Remarkably, certain clans maintained historical ties unaffected by the conversions of their members. Muslim or “schismatic” godparents were accepted for baptism and confirmation and, driven by superstition, even the children of the infidels were baptised.63 The Catholic Church had to act in this complex network through the catechetical efforts of missionaries, parish priests and bishops whose presence was permitted by the Ottoman authorities.64
42This necessary introduction shows how difficult, if not impossible, it was for the Serenissima to find “pure” Catholic Albanians to settle in Istria. On the other hand, Venice was not obsessed with finding such people. In this context, the tolerance towards the Orthodox communities in Istria becomes comprehensible.
The Ghegs in Venetian Istria
- 65 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 49‑54.
43After the loss of Shkodër, the Venetian authorities began to offer a solution to Albanians interested in emigrating to the Stato da Mar. Although isolated members of the Albanian nobility had settled in Istria as early as the mid‑13th century, it is not surprising that the first significant group of Albanians recorded in the Venetian province settled in 1480, founding Villa Decani (Dekani) near Koper. The credit for this first settlement goes to Giovanni Ducaino, a nobleman from Shkodër, head of a powerful clan and a veteran of the capitulation of his city. He was rewarded by the Republic with the nearby manor of San Servolo, after having sought recognition in Venice like other compatriots.65 Individuals like Ducaino, as we will soon see, were key figures in Venetian colonisation and were to be pampered accordingly.
- 66 Ardian Ndreca, «Prefazione», in Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 11.
- 67 Bernardo Benussi, Parenzo nell’evo medio e moderno, Parenzo, Tipografia di Gaetano Coana, 1910, p. (...)
- 68 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 103.
- 69 Sergio Anselmi (ed.), Italia felix…, op. cit.; Patrizia Resta, Un popolo in cammino. Le migrazioni (...)
44Venetian Istria was a small region, and the number of Albanian immigrants was reasonably low.66 Most of the Albanian resettlement projects were concentrated in Poreč and a dozen surrounding villages. These areas were not only repopulated, but also characterised by the commitment of Albanian refugees to build new villages on the remains of abandoned ones.67 As a result, this peninsular microcosm has been defined as Arbëria istriana,68 a diasporic settlement comparable to the ethnic Albanian “islands” established in southern Italy – the most studied, persistent and well‑known Arbëria.69
- 70 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta…», art. cit., p. 154.
- 71 Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, De’ commentarj…, op. cit., p. 373.
- 72 Ibid. supra, p. 376.
- 73 Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici sull’etnografia dell’Istria», Atti e memorie della Società ist (...)
45The Venetian determination to colonise this area is understandable in light of the demographic estimates we have. Inhabited by 3,000 people until the middle of the 14th century, Poreč experienced a demographic collapse of 61.54% of its population between 1554 and 1696.70 Depicted by coeval writers as “doomed and desolate71”, the city was surrounded by a fertile countryside “full of new inhabitants and rich villas”.72 However, in absolute terms, by 1601 its population had dwindled to just 300 people. By 1646, the number had fallen further to just one hundred, and at its lowest point, there were only 36 people living there.73
- 74 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 111‑114.
- 75 Ibid. supra, p. 111.
- 76 Mariano Bolizza, Realissima e minutissima descrittione e relatione del sangiacato over ducato di Sc (...)
46Among other colonisation plans, between 1610 and 1612, Ghegs groups from the Bar area managed to contact the Venetian Senate in order to move to Istria. It is necessary to question the circumstantial reasons for this sudden migration, which the refugees negotiated before leaving by appealing to a warm institutional welcome. According to Mandalà, the Ghegs did not flee from the Turks to preserve their Catholic religious preferences, but rather this migration was linked to their nomadic tendencies, which clashed in a context of instability.74 This theory is unconvincing because it suggests an overly impulsive reaction on the part of the migrants. As the same scholar argues, the decisions to migrate were taken collectively by the clans and villages.75 These were the years when the Turkish officials installed near Kotor put more pressure on the restive Albanian population and expressed their intention to attack the untamed Ghegs of the mountains.76
- 77 José M. Floristán, «Una petición de ayuda militar de los habitantes de Albania, Bosnia Hercegovina, (...)
47Faced with these threats, the Albanians, as they had done in the past, sent representatives to the European courts to ask for help. At the same time as asking the Serenissima for asylum, they also appealed to the Spanish monarchy and other Italian sovereign states, such as the duchies of Savoy, Mantua and Parma, for military intervention to expel the Ottomans.77
- 78 Mainly from Šušanj, Sosina and Sutomore.
48During this pre‑reception period, the Venetian authorities never delved into the religion of the Albanian refugees. Pending further research, there is no evidence that they had done so before. About 300 people, mostly from the diocese of Bar,78 landed on the Istrian coast in different stages and through different recruiters; some died on the way.
The difficult beginnings of the 1610 plan
- 79 Archivio di Stato di Venezia [ASVe], Senato [S], Dispacci dei Rettori [DR], Dalmazia [D], fz. 9, no (...)
- 80 Ibid. supra. The Descrittione d’alcune fameglie albanesi partite dal territorio di Bar per andare a (...)
49On 15 September 1610, the governor of Kotor, Francesco Moresini, forwarded an appeal from Luca Duimo of Sosina (Bar) to Doge Leonardo Donà. Duimo, an Albanian who had proudly served the Venetian Navy on guard duty in Dalmatian waters,79 referred to Albania as “my homeland” and claimed that many of his friends and relatives could no longer “bear the yoke and tyranny of the Turks”. They had therefore decided to move with their entire families to Apulia, the heel of the Italian boot, which had already welcomed thousands of Albanians, either passing through on their way to other destinations in Italia Felix or intending to settle in one of the Arbëreshë villages of the region. Whether motivated by flattery, convenience or other historical reasons – as we shall soon see – the Albanians showed a strong preference for Venetian Istria. According to his own account, the zeal for the doge had encouraged him to recruit about thirty families and bring them to Istria, subjecting them “to all the usual grievances of the island, except servitude in the galleys.80”
- 81 The rettore of Kotor, Girolamo da Molin, to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n. Kotor, 3 December (...)
- 82 The rettore of Kotor to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n. Kotor, 5 February 1611.
- 83 Ibid. supra.
50Almost three months later, Duimo appeared again before the new rettore, Girolamo da Molin, this time accompanied by the clan leader of these families, to insist on his previous request. He argued that the families were uncertain of the Venetians’ sincere intentions and feared that the Turkish authorities might discover their movements, which could result in the condemnation of the clan chief to the stake and the refugees to slavery.81 Furthermore, the refugees had caused some damage before leaving the Ottoman border in an act of revenge against their oppressors.82 Perhaps for this reason, Duimo had dared to move eight of these families – about 35 people with their animals – to Bečići, a Venetian town near Budva, controlled by the Vlach‑Albanian tribe of the Pastrovicchi. The rettore stressed the need to handle the matter “with great circumspection and caution”, since abandoning the migrants to their fate would mean “inflicting on them infinite harm and endangering their health, which is contrary to Christian charity and to the pious and religious spirit of Your Serenity.83”
- 84 Michael Knapton, «Tra Dominante e…», op. cit., p. 329.
- 85 The rettore of Kotor to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n. Kotor, 5 February 1611.
51The coastal towns of Venetian Albania, close to the Ottoman borders of the immediate hinterland, were caught in the crossfire of the atavistic guerrilla warfare between the violent tribes of the Pastrovicchi (pro‑Venetian) and the Marcovicchi (pro‑Ottoman).84 This forced the rettore, with the collaboration of the voivode and the consent of the local clan leader, to bring the refugees to Istria in secret, hastily and under cover of night, by sea. He also tried “to comfort those poor souls who want to live in the shadow of this most serene dominion”.85 More than 130 years later, a familiar slogan used by Albanians fleeing the Ottoman territories resurfaced. This formula, which originated in the late 15th century, has endured over time, embodying the lasting memory of a shared past between the two sides. Some of these Ghegs were born as subjects of the doges when their hometowns were still Venetian, that is, before they came under Turkish control. In particular, there were elders from the Bar region, a former Venetian colony which, as already mentioned, was ceded to the Ottomans in 1571.
- 86 Marco Antonio Venier, provveditore generale of Dalmatia, to the doge, ASVe, S, Dispacci, Provvedito (...)
52They were the first of several families to leave their homeland for similar reasons. As mentioned above, Duimo had already received permission to gather and accompany about 30 families. The remaining eighteen families – comprising 47 men and 40 women – were assembled at the port of Budva. These “very poor” refugees were forced to stop in Zadar, where the provveditore of Dalmatia provided them with rusks, before continuing to Istria.86
Map 1: Situation of Venetian Albania in 1610

Ottoman domains are marked in red.
Base map: <https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=2432>. Place names added by author.
- 87 The Rašpor captain, Pietro Bondulmier, to the doge. Buzet, 4 November 1610, ASVe, S, DR, Istria [I] (...)
53There was plenty of land available on the western side of the Istrian peninsula, but it was in a deplorable state. This was a matter of concern for everyone, including the rulers and the settlers, who denounced the general neglect and rough condition of the ground. The Rašpor captain pointed out that if the Albanians wanted to start living in the rural areas of Poreč and Pula, they would find only “rocky, thorny and uncultivated land.87”
- 88 Ibid. supra.
- 89 “If [these refugees] find such comfort, I believe that there will be no lack of people coming from (...)
54In this sense, it was necessary to provide them with housing, animals and supplies to facilitate the start of their agricultural activities. This would also prevent them from falling into the hands of usurers who “tyrannised them by granting them loans for living expenses and more, at double their value.88” Their desperation became a premonition of a dark future that sometimes drove them to flee to the archducal territories. For these reasons, it was crucial to offer facilities to meet their basic needs, elements that favoured the creation of migratory chains.89
- 90 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 4 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 91 Ibid. supra.
55At the beginning of February 1611, when the refugees were anchored on a frigate in the port of Cervera, five miles from Poreč, they had yet to receive anything. They were travelling without belongings and poorly clothed, and asked for shelter and food, even though they had already consumed a thousand lira worth of rusks given to them in Zadar. Their leader, Duimo, complained about this and once again declared that “they [the refugees], remembering that they were born as subjects of Your Serenity, have eagerly embraced the cause and have decided to come and die under their natural prince.90” The migrants were nervous because they were starving. The captain himself promised to intervene and provide them with more bread.91
- 92 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 7 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 93 “Of course, it was only by the Lord’s grace that so many people stayed healthy in a not very big fr (...)
56When the Rašpor captain, Pietro Bondulmier, arrived at the port of disembarkation, he saw the desperate situation of these people first hand, exhausted by the incessant winter rains and the hardships they had endured during the 40 days of sailing.92 Moved by the scene, Bondulmier rushed to shelter 87 surprisingly healthy people in abandoned houses in Poreč and met personally with each family.93 A surprising revelation was the lower-than-expected number of men of working age (only 23 between the ages of eighteen and sixty), as most of them were elderly and minors, along with 40 women, almost all of them young. Fortunately, a passing ship offered them some rusks, as there was nothing in the village, not even an oven. The captain also spent money to ensure the supply of water, firewood and wine for the night:
- 94 Ibid.
“They have no animals, large or small, not even a few. They have no agricultural tools. Most of them are practically naked. They have no means of livelihood and no food to eat. Neither Luca [Duimo] nor any of them know the land, where to go for refuge or how to make a living. Naturally, their plight arouses compassion.94”
- 95 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 12 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz., n.n.
57A longer‑term solution had to be found. The process of rapidly selecting settlements proved to be particularly challenging. The Rašpor captain had inspected and chosen some locations near Poreč and Novigrad, but he knew that there were other options in the countryside around Pula and Umag. A detailed survey of the area by experts would have been necessary. Given the urgency, however, this would have been time‑consuming and unfeasible.95
- 96 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 7 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 97 On Borisi, see Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, De’ commentarj…, op. cit., p. 404‑405; Savo Marković, «Ba (...)
- 98 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 7 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
58To solve the situation, Bondulmier suggested relocating them to the village of Funtana, in the same diocese as Poreč, under the guardianship of his lord, Captain Bernardo Borisi, brother of Venetian dragoman Marco Antonio, both Albanians from Bar, just like the refugees they would have to look after.96 In 1595, Borisi was rewarded with the possession of this territory for populating it successfully through other compatriots.97 These individuals were part of nineteen families already considered as long‑time residents by 1610. Now Borisi had even recognised some of the newly arrived elders in Istria, who had been his vassals when Bar was under Venetian rule,98 that is, until 1571.
- 99 The doge, Leonardo Donà, to the Rašpor captain (first letter) and to the podestà and the Koper capt (...)
59Sent by Bondulmier, four heads of Albanian families travelled to Venice to ask the doge and the senate for financial aid. This was a common occurrence for the Serenissima. Since it was a strategic interest of the Republic’s “public service” to promote the colonisation of the province and to facilitate the immigrants’ settlement through the “management of cultivation”, the doge granted a loan of 500 ducats to the podestà and the Koper captain, treasurer of the province, for the benefit of the refugees. This loan was facilitated by the Rašpor captain,99 who had
“the authority to distribute it in the form of grain or money to the men of the families, giving more to some and less to others, according to their needs and purposes. The intention was that they should buy agricultural tools and animals as needed, with the obligation to return the money so that our Lordship may be repaid in due time. You are instructed to keep a special and careful record of all expenditure.”
- 100 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 101 The doge to the Rašpor captain (first letter). Venice, 26 February 1611, ASVe, S, Deliberazioni, Se (...)
- 102 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 13 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Fifteen others we (...)
60The settlers were obliged to repay the money without interest, starting from the third year and for five years (one hundred ducats per year).100 Even so, the most important thing for each family was to build their own farmhouse.101 This would tie them to the land and discourage them from moving or abandoning the chosen settlement, a common phenomenon in Istrian colonisation. In this case, only four people left within a month (another had died).102
- 103 Ibid.
- 104 Report of Giovan Battista Grisoni, pertegador pubblico of the Istrian province. S.l., 15 March 1611 (...)
- 105 Ibid. supra. Carlo De Franceschi (L’Istria…, op. cit., p. 374) quotes 1,239 plots granted between D (...)
- 106 Ibid. supra.
- 107 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 27 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
61Meanwhile, the 18 heads of families asked how they were going to buy animals, tools and food in the coming months on such a limited budget. They also inquired about firewood, straw and hardware. The captain confirmed that the cattle would cost more than 40 ducats per team.103 The land that the public surveyor, the pertegador, had measured, allocated and handed over to them was acknowledged to be “wooded, thorny and rocky”, although it exceeded the originally planned concession of three miles by four times:104 12 square miles of non‑contiguous fields, with good vineyards, scattered olive trees and other cultivated or sown plots. This situation was not ideal as it did not meet the settlers’ needs and disrupted the continuity of other potential crops.105 The chosen village of Mugeba,106 less than an hour’s walk from Funtana, also had some thatched houses, but more needed to be built, especially near water sources. This task would prove challenging given Istria’s notorious water scarcity.107
- 108 “These people show a great desire to do well”. The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, (...)
- 109 Report of the pertegador pubblico of the Istrian province. 15 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n. (...)
- 110 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 13 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 111 Ibid. supra.
62The Albanians seemed eager to work from the start.108 Those who could use the land right away were considered few and fortunate, while those who were assigned uncultivated plots constituted the majority and were the most disadvantaged. As a result, some expressed concern about the uncertainty of the coming months: “How will we live, and on what, until we have transformed this [land] into cultivable land capable of bearing fruit?109” Before anything could be planted, the soil had to be cleared of weeds and rocks. The terrain was so rough that the settlers feared they could not farm it.110 Harvesting would take time as the fields had to be cleared, ploughed and sown. Bondulmier, who lived in Buzet, thirty miles away via a bad road from Poreč, was unsure how to help the new settlers. He doubted that they would be able to seek his advice without pain and expense.111
63Nevertheless, whether because of the negative circumstances they experienced in the Gheg‑Ottoman area, word of mouth, or news exchanged between the migrants and those who remained in their homelands – that is how diasporas work – or because of the way recruiters presented the destination as a “promised land”, other Albanian families from very humble backgrounds embarked on the Istrian adventure without any personal belongings.
- 112 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 6 April 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 113 Ibid. supra. The newcomers were ready to go to the doge in person, but the captain discouraged them (...)
- 114 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet,7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. At forty ducats per (...)
- 115 The Rašpor captain to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Pula, 18 October 1611.
- 116 The Rašpor captain to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Poreč, 13 December 1611.
- 117 Ibid. supra.
64On 2 April 1611, another forty Albanians landed in Poreč on board an improvised frigate. They had come from the “Turkish land” too, with the consent of the rettore of Kotor and once again under the leadership of Duimo.112 Without money or animals, they asked for logistical support and supplies. Frustrated, the Rašpor captain complained that he had not received yet the 500 ducats earmarked for the previous 87 refugees.113 This money arrived five months after their arrival, and Bondulmier used it to buy eight teams.114 After a few months, the minister had to admit with some resignation that the desperate settlers were cutting down trees to sell as firewood in the town, using oxen to move them.115 Although the refugees’ condition aroused sympathy, the captain reversed his previous position and described them as people “of very little use and not very suitable for agriculture.116” Following the doge’s recommendations, he provided them with meat, tools and money to plant and survive for a few days, noting that “when they have money, they like to spend it in the tavern.117”
Recruiters and guides: Migrant smuggling
65In those years, Duimo was not the only chief responsible for recruiting and settling refugees in Istria. Other leaders, from the same ethnic group as the migrants presented themselves as intermediaries to the authorities in Kotor, to the Rašpor captain, or even to the Venetian Senate and the doge. They offered to bring families to Istria and help them settle in the hinterland. Although they claimed to be working for a noble cause, today, with some nuances and perhaps anachronistically, we would call them human smugglers.
- 118 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 131.
66These intermediaries were often former soldiers of the Venetian Army, highly respected by the refugee communities. These peoples had been “seduced by the leaders with a somewhat flattering image of the Istrian province,118” only to end up disappointed:
- 119 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Koper, 6 January 1612, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
“Your Serene Highness, in this matter, concerning the interests of these Albanian people, I am sure that I have not failed in any measure of charity, and I have used every kindness for their preservation. But we bring these wretches here with exaggerated promises of finding housing, proper land to cultivate, provisions for animals and for living. And when they arrive, they find things very different.119”
- 120 This was the description offered by the Rašpor captain about the guide Luca de Zorzi. The Rašpor ca (...)
67The guides were impoverished people (“he has nothing in the world but a few rags),120 yet they harboured ambitions, aspirations for advancement and hopes of receiving some Venetian provisions. Despite their seemingly innocent attitude, however, they speculated on the misfortunes of the most desperate.
- 121 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 136.
- 122 During the colonization between 1621 and 1623, two priests, Father Zorzi Arman and Father Porrubba, (...)
- 123 Darko Darovec «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 216; Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 136‑1 (...)
- 124 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Pula, 18 October 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
68Venice placed a cautious and sometimes suspicious trust in these attendants, who often failed, broke promises or disappeared. Nevertheless, “the entire Venetian immigration policy was based on direct contact with these leaders.121” It also happened that these guides were clergymen of the same nation.122 In addition to gaining influence over their native community, these leaders sought to obtain fiefdoms, houses, pensions and lifelong tax exemptions from the Republic for themselves and their descendants.123 The Rašpor captain, Piero Bondulmier, was aware of the controversial reputation of Duimo and two or three other Albanian soldiers who wanted to be appointed as guides. He feared that they might act with double standards by receiving a pension and, at the same time, using the newly acquired teams to sell them beyond the archducal border. There was also the possibility that they might flee to Senj, the Adriatic base of the Uskok pirates, or elsewhere.124
- 125 The rettore of Kotor, Girolamo de Molin, to the doge, referring to Vucassin’s words. Kotor, 1 March (...)
- 126 The rettore of Kotor to the doge. Kotor, 27 July 1611, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 10, n.n. When Zorzi trav (...)
69These recruiters employed similar tactics to persuade the Venetian ministers to accept the refugees. For example, Piero Vucassin, from the village of Sutomore, near Bar, threatened to “take these people – ten families, about forty people – to Apulia instead of remaining with them as subjects of the Turks”125 if the rettore of Kotor did not furnish them assistance, echoing Duimo’s demands. Francesco de Paolo, from the village of Šušanj, and Luca de Zorzi (Vucassin), a former soldier in the Venetian Navy, from the village of Cugne (Kunje) in the Marcovicchi area, both within the Ottoman jurisdiction of Bar, proposed to move another 40 families (120 people) to Istria, thus abandoning “their birthplace to escape the yoke and tyranny of the Turks.126”
70This was not a form of emotional blackmail, but rather an attitude that supported the colonising interests of the Serenissima. In the end, the Venetian institutions considered their mediation and logistical work to be superficial. They expected the leaders to anticipate the arrival of the communities and to pave the way for them by exploring and selecting the most suitable areas for colonisation, in accordance with the settlers’ demands. The aim was to plan effectively for the arrival of large numbers of unprepared refugees, with no shelter, goods, money or food.
71In the cases discussed here, unlike in the past, their commitment wavered. Duimo and Zorzi had not previously explored the Istrian countryside; thus, their understanding of the geography of the area could be limited. This was the lamentable explanation of the Istrian surveyor:
- 127 Report of Giovan Battista Grisoni, 15 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n., s.l. He continued: “ (...)
“It seems to me that these people were brought into this province in a disorderly fashion. On similar occasions, the main person from the area would normally come first to survey the land and have it allotted to them. They would ensure that any disagreements were resolved and that relevant details were added to the concession. They would then provide the families with a place to live before taking them [to Istria]. In this case, I notice that the process seems to have been reversed.127”
72Having received the green light from Venice, the provincial officials were used to planning rather than improvising. The disorganisation caused by the Albanian recruiters was a source of tension for the local institutions. While waiting for another 97 Albanians that Luca de Zorzi was to collect in Budva after the doge and the senators had given their approval, the rettore of Kotor expressed his displeasure as follows:
- 128 The rettore of Kotor to the doge. Kotor, 7 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 10, n.n. The letter c (...)
“I am deeply concerned that these people will one day cause an [unpleasant] novelty by disobeying orders and trying to rule themselves, as Luca de Zorzi did. He disregarded the public order issued by Your Serenity [to first explore the Istrian countryside.] […] Instead, he returned to this area [in Kotor,] passed through Albania without accomplishing anything, caused great confusion among the families, and then reported to me. This filled me with profound disquietude.128”
- 129 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 16 September 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 130 This is what happened to a family from the village of Trumpsi, near Shkodër (two women, two childre (...)
73Certainly, some communities migrated to Istria on their own, without being recruited by leaders or having any contact or negotiations with the Venetian institutions. For example, in September 1611, 10 families (50 people) suddenly arrived. The captain thought that they could be integrated into the ongoing colonisation plans, so he mixed them with the recently settled tribes. The refugees were satisfied with this arrangement and were even willing to “come to the doge’s feet” to “explain their needs.129” Moreover, from Kotor the rettore was well aware that it was possible to send the Gheg refugees to their Istrian counterparts, including smaller families.130
- 131 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 13 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 132 Without a leader, the Rašpor captain forced them to appoint the eldest as župan. Ibid. supra. These (...)
- 133 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Koper, 6 January 1612, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. According to Rin (...)
74As it had done in the past and would do in the future, the Republic wanted to strengthen the settlements by moving as many Albanian refugees as possible from the Gheg-Ottoman area to the same region, creating cohesive communities and preventing the abandonment of the land. Therefore, when the last ten immigrant families from Poreč moved to the Umag hinterland without permission, the Venetian ministers tried to catch them and reunite them with the tribes that were supposed to go to Mugeba. They also suggested that if they stayed together, they could eventually “form their own village.131” Nevertheless, four families – 29 people, mostly elderly, women and small children – chose to stay in Umag, where another colony of Albanians had already settled, “showing that they did not get along” with the other group of migrants.132 “With tears in their eyes, they threw themselves on the ground” and begged the captain “to let them stay in the Umag countryside. They claimed that the air and water were good there, and that, if he took them to the Poreč area, they would surely die soon, as had happened to many people who had already settled in that area.133”
- 134 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 13 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
75The Venetian administration had to deal not only with death and disease among many of the migrants, but also with clan divisions and the impatience of refugees struggling to survive in harsh conditions. The risk was that some of them would turn to thieving or to work on armed ships, and others would cross the borders and settle in archducal territories in search of better prospects.134
- 135 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 136 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 13 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Matteo Mandalà (...)
- 137 Ibid. supra.
76The Rašpor captain was sceptical about the success of the current project. The newly settled refugees – already in such a miserable state – lacked a capo135 capable of coordinating, managing tensions and speaking with one voice to the authorities and the neighbouring communities. It was, therefore, unlikely that conflicts between the new and old residents could be resolved, as the last Albanian refugees were, in his opinion, “barbaric people, prone to riots.136” In addition, the old inhabitants still owned some land, which could now be confiscated ex officio if left uncultivated.137
- 138 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6.
- 139 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Pula, 18 October 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
- 140 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Koper, 14 January 1612, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Accompanied by (...)
77After all, the Rašpor captain noted that the balance of births and deaths over the previous two years revealed a stark reality. In the parish of his jurisdiction, there had been 439 deaths compared to only 181 births, a negative balance of 258 units out of a total population of 1,500.138 The future seemed so bleak that the Rašpor captain expressed his pessimism to the doge, explaining that if the latter wanted to maintain such a high level of interest and support for the refugees, “it would be expensive to cultivate this province.139” Even with the arrival of the last group of Albanians at the beginning of 1612 – 64 survivors (13 families) out of some 97 refugees,140 – the long‑standing problem in Istria would remain unresolved for the time being.
Table 1: Gheg settlements in Istria (1611‑1612)
Date | People | Families | Origin | Destination |
January 1611 | 35 | 8 | dioc. of Bar | Poreč |
February 1611 | 87 | 18 | dioc. of Bar | Poreč |
April 1611 | 40 | 7 | dioc. of Bar | Poreč |
September 1611 | 50 | 10 | Poreč and Umag | |
September 1611 | 9 | 1 | Trumpsi | Poreč |
January 1612 | 64 | 13 | Novigrad | |
TOTAL | 285 | 57 |
Source: own research.
Table 2: List of correspondences between Venetian/Italian, and Slavic and Albanian toponyms
Toponyms | |
Venetian/Italian | Slavic and Albanian |
Alessio | Lezhë |
Antivari | Bar |
Budua | Budva |
Capodistria | Koper |
Castelnuovo | Herceg Novi |
Cattaro | Kotor |
Cittanova | Novigrad |
Drivasto | Drisht |
Dulcigno | Ulcinj |
Durazzo | Durrës |
Fiume | Rijeka |
Fontane | Funtana |
Marcovicchi | Mercòvici |
Monghebbo | Mugeba |
Muggia | Milje |
Parenzo | Poreč |
Perasto | Perast |
Petrovia | Petrovija |
Pinguente | Buzet |
Pola | Pula |
Raspo | Rašpor |
Rovigno | Rovinj |
Scutari | Shkodër |
Spalato | Split |
Spizza | Sutomore |
Susanj | Šušanj |
Umago | Umag |
Valona | Vlorë |
Zara | Zadar |
Source: own work.
Notes
1 Sergio Anselmi (a c. di), Italia felix. Migrazioni slave e albanesi in Occidente. Romagna, Marche, Abruzzi, secoli xiv‑xvi, Ancona, Tecnostampa, «Quaderni di Proposte e Ricerche, 3», 1988; Filippo Maria Paladini, «Migranti, rifugiati, coloni (e abitanti nuovi) tra Dalmazia e Istria in età veneta (sec. xv‑xviii)», Ateneo Veneto, anno CCVI, terza serie, vol. 18, no 1‑(Migrazione e interculturalità), 2019, p. 11‑43.
2 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Adriatico orientale e il Mediterraneo tra il xvi e il xviii secolo. Abbozzo storico‑antropologico», Atti del Centro di ricerche storiche – Rovigno (ACRSR), vol. xxxii, 2002, p. 197, <https://crsrv.org/PDF/Atti/Atti-32/Miroslav-Bertosa-L-Adriatico-orientale-e-il-Mediterraneo-tra-il-XVI-e-il-XVIII-secolo-abbozzo-storico-antropologico.pdf>.
3 It is important to note that in the consulted sources these clans were never referred to as Ghegs. Nothing strange that Montenegrins might have been among them, since ethnic‑cultural crossover – all the more so in these areas, as I will say later – is inevitable.
4 Frederic C. Lane, Storia di Venezia, Turin, Einaudi, «Biblioteca di cultura storica, 137», 1978, p. 56‑57.
5 Such as, according to my knowledge, Nicolò Manzuoli, Nova descrittione della provincia dell’Istria… con la Vita delli santi et sante di detta provincia, raccolte dalle legende loro… conservate nelli archivi delle chiese nelle quali ripossano le reliquie loro, Venice, G. Bizzardo, 1611, <https://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ178211605>; Giovanni Botero, Relaciones universales del mundo, Valladolid, 1603 (original edition Rome, 1591), <https://bibliotecadigital.jcyl.es/es/consulta/registro.do?id=4085>; Giacomo Filippo Tomassini, «De’ commentarj storici‑geografici della provincia dell’Istria», Pola, 1657, in L’archeografo triestino. Raccolta di opuscoli e notizie per Trieste e per l’Istria, vol. iv, Trieste, Tipografia di Giovanni Marenigh, 1837, <https://fr.scribd.com/document/651328262/Giacomo-Filippo-Tommasini-De-Commentari-storici-geografici-della-Provincia-dell-Istria>; Prospero Petronio, Memorie sacre e profane dell’Istria, Giusto Borri (ed.), Trieste, [G. Coana], 1968 [1681], and Bartolommeo Vergottin, Breve saggio d’istoria antica e moderna della città di Parenzo nell’Istria, Venice, Modesto Fenzo, 1796.
6 Such as, among others, Egidio Ivetic, La popolazione dell’Istria nell’età moderna. Lineamenti evolutivi, Trieste‑Rovigno, Unione italiana Fiume – Università popolare di Trieste, 1997, «Collana degli atti, 15», and Miroslav Bertoša, «Južna Istra (1585.‑1797.): populacijska kriza i naseljavanje», in Aleksandar Mezga and Andrej Bader (eds), Monografija Općine Medulin, Medulin, Općina Medulin, 2013, p. 118‑141. Carlo de Franceschi had previously discussed the chronic demographic issues in Istria during the 19th century. See Carlo De Franceschi, L’Istria. Note storiche, Parenzo, Tipografia di Gaetano Coana, 1879, p. 332‑347. Other classical studies on this topic are Vjekoslav Bratulić, Rovinjsko Selo. Monografija jednog istarskog sela, Zagreb, Jadranski institut, «Jadranske monografije, 2», 1959; Gligor Stanojević, «Naseljavanje Istre u xvii. vijeku s osvrtom na iseljavanje iz Crne Gore i Crnogorskog primorja», Istorijski zapisi, vol. 12, no 3, 1965, p. 429‑467, <https://istorijskizapisi.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STANOJEVIC-Naseljavanje-Istre-u-XVII-vijeku.pdf>.
7 For example: Lia De Luca, Venezia e le immigrazioni in Istria nel Cinque e Seicento, Thesis in Modern history, Mario Infelise (dir), Venice, Università Ca’ Foscari, 2011, <https://iris.unive.it/retrieve/3dda1d14-c92f-4860-96c1-2d0a86ae3475/955569_Lia_De_Luca.pdf>. I could not consult her Migrazioni Adriatiche. I nuovi abitanti istriani, Treviso, Alcione, 2020, which seems to be the publication of the her just mentioned PhD thesis.
8 See at least: Giuliano Veronese, «L’immigrazione nell’Istria Veneta tra ‘500 e ‘600: problemi giurisdizionali, contese tra comunità, conflitti etnici tra originari e forestieri», Acta Histriae, vol. 2, no iii, , 1994, p. 181‑192, <https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:doc-B7OMQWZU/a59c4c57-c89b-4dcf-ab54-4f4650cdec98/PDF>.
9 In terms of Early modern Istrian history, notable works include Ivetic’s and Darovec’s synthesis. See Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna. Un’introduzione ai secoli xvi‑xviii, Trieste‑Rovigno, Unione Ital. Fiume Univ. popolare di Trieste, «Collana degli atti, Rovinj, 17», 1999; Egidio Ivetic, Oltremare. L’Istria nell’ultimo dominio veneto. Memoria presentata dal s.e. Marino Brenego, Venice, Istituto veneto di Scienze, «Memorie, Lettere ed Arti, 89», 2000, and Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500‑1797. Una regione confine, Caselle di Sommacampagne (Verona), Cierre, «Nordest, 88», 2010; and Darko Darovec, Breve storia dell’Istria, Udine, Forum, 2010 [2008].
10 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione albanese in Istria (secoli xv‑xviii), Nardò, Besamuci, «Entropie, 104», 2021.
11 In this province, Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle are the only Istrian towns on Italian territory.
12 On the notion of Triplex confinium, it is helpful to read the contextualization of Drago Roksandić, “The Triplex Confinium. International Research Project: objectives, approaches and methods”, in id. (ed.), Microhistory of the Triplex Confinium. International Project Conference Papers (Budapest, March 21‑22, 1997), Budapest, CEU Institute on Southeastern Europe, 1998, p. 7‑25, <https://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/pov/zavod/triplex/goalstc.htm>. See also: Drago Roksandić and Nataša Štefanac (eds), Constructing Border Societies on the Triplex Confinium, Budapest, Central European University, “CEU History Departement working paper series, 4”, 2000; Egidio Ivetic and Drago Roksandic (eds), Tolerance and Intolerance on the Triplex Confinium: Approaching the ‘Other’ on the Borderlands, Eastern Adriatic and Beyond, 1500‑1800, 1th ed., Padova, Cleup, “History, economy and society, 5”, 2007.
13 Egidio Ivetic, Oltremare…, op. cit., p. 22.
14 Carlo De Franceschi, L’Istria…, op. cit., p. 348‑371.
15 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta nel Cinquecento e nel Seicento», ACRSR, vol. vii, no 1, 1977, p. 141, <https://crsrv.org/PDF/Atti/Atti-07/Miroslav-Bertosa-L-Istria-veneta-nel-cinquecento-e-nel-seicento.pdf>.
16 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria and the North Adriatic in the Modern Age: Society, Culture and Environment», in Flocel Sabaté (ed.), Ciutats mediterrànies: la mobilitat i el desplaçament de persones = Mediterranean Towns: Mobility and Displacement of People, Barcelona, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, «Publicacions de la Presidència, 10», 2021, p. 215, <https://publicacions.iec.cat/repository/pdf/00000310/00000057.pdf>.
17 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta…», art. cit., p. 141‑142.
18 Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, De’ commentarj…, op. cit., p. 54; Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 206.
19 Egidio Ivetic, Oltremare…, op. cit., p. 291‑300.
20 The Morlachs inhabited the mountainous hinterland of Dalmatia prior to the arrival of the Turks. During the Ottoman period, in the absence of a local governing power, the Morlach clans seemed to assert themselves as the sole social organization in the mountains that enjoyed self‑government and privileges. After 1540, they lost these privileges and began to migrate to Istria, destabilizing the social and religious structures along the Christian borders between Stato da Mar, the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman territories, leading to phenomena like the Uskoks. Egidio Ivetic, Un confine nel Mediterraneo. L’Adriatico orientale tra Italia e Slavia (1300‑1900), Rome, Viella, «I libri di Viella, 178», 2014, p. 43. According to Darko Darovec, the term “Morlach” is a combination of “Mauro” and “Vlachs”, meaning “black Vlachs” – that is, from the north, in line with the Turkish custom of using colours to indicate the cardinal points. After the War of Candia (1645‑1668), the largest influx settled in Istria. Darko Darovec, Breve storia…, op. cit., and Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 205‑206.
21 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’equilibrio nel processo di ‘acculturazione’ in Istria: tra interazioni e opposizioni», ACRSR, vol. xii, 1982, p. 99‑127 (part i); vol. xiii, 1983, p. 237‑292 (part ii), specially p. 291, <https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/353168>.
22 Darko Darovec, Breve storia…, op. cit., p. 107, and Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 213.
23 Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 72.
24 Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici sull’etnografia dell’Istria», Atti e memorie della Società istriana di archeologia e storia patria, vol. xix, 1903, fasc. 3‑4, p. 233, <https://archive.org/details/attiememorie1920sociuoft/page/n235/mode/2up>.
25 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta…», art. cit., p. 145‑150; Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 65.
26 Egidio Ivetic, op. cit. supra, p. 64‑65.
27 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 216.
28 Michael Knapton, «Tra Dominante e dominio (1517‑1630)», in Gaetano Cozzi, Michael Knapton and Giovanni Scarabello, La Repubblica di Venezia nell’età moderna. Dal 1517 alla fine della Repubblica, Turin, Utet, «Storia d’Italia, 12, 2», 1992, p. 352.
29 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 218.
30 Egidio Ivetic, «Colonizzazioni nell’Adriatico moderno (1500‑1800)», in Giampaolo Salice (ed.), La terra ai forestieri, Pisa, Pacini, «Collana Percorsi, 16», 2019, p. 133‑136. Nicola Antolini, «Slavi e Latini in Istria tra Cinquecento e Novecento: origini storiche e problemi del contesto multietnico istriano», Storicamente, vol. 2, 2006, p. 9‑12, <https://storicamente.org/sites/default/images/articles/media/420/02antolini.pdf>.
31 Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 73.
32 Egidio Ivetic, «Finanza pubblica e sistema fiscale nell’Istria veneta del Sei‑Settecento», ACRSR, vol. xxviii, 1998, p. 151‑203, <https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/352568>.
33 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 71‑73.
34 Michael Knapton, «Tra Dominante e…», op. cit., p. 352.
35 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 133.
36 On this, see Caterina Zocconi Spinelli, Il Capitanato di Raspo e gli «habitanti novi». Alcuni spunti di ricerca dal fondo archivistico della Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria, Trieste, Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria, 2021.
37 See Giuliano Veronese, «L’immigrazione…», art. cit.; Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 222‑223.
38 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 139.
39 Giuliano Veronese, «L’immigrazione…», art. cit., p. 182.
40 Cited by Darko Darovec, Breve storia…, op. cit., p. 102.
41 Ivan Grah, «Izvještaji porečkih bikupa Svetoj Stolici (1588‑1775)», Croatica Christiana periodica, vol. 7, no 12, 1983, p. 8, <https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/145611>.
42 Miroslav Bertoša, «I Catastici di Umago e di Cittanova (1613‑1614). La modesta realizzazione di un grandioso disegno nell’Istria veneta (xvi‑xvii sec.)», ACRSR, vol. ix, no 1, 1979, p. 426, <https://hrcak.srce.hr/en/file/353432>.
43 Ibid. supra, p. 113.
44 Darko Darovec, «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 218; Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici…», art. cit., p. 242. As they came from Budva and Bar, there may also have been Albanians among them. See Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 72‑73.
45 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 147; Egidio Ivetic, L’Istria moderna 1500…, op. cit., p. 141, and Egidio Ivetic, Un confine…, op. cit., p. 183; Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici…», art. cit., p. 239.
46 Giovanni Botero, Relaciones…, op. cit., p. 68r‑v.
47 Alain Ducellier, L’Albanie entre Byzance et Venise, xe‑xve siècles, London, Variorum Reprints, “Collected studies series, 248”, 1987.
48 Jovan Martinović, “Albania veneta o litorale montenegrino”, in Bruno Crevato‑Selvaggi, Jovan Martinović and Daniele Sferra, L’Albania veneta. La Serenissima e le sue popolazioni nel cuore dei Balcani, Milan, Biblion, «Patrimonio veneto nel Mediterraneo, 6», 2012, p. 17.
49 Pëllumb Xhufi, «Venezia in Albania», in Bruno Crevato‑Selvaggi, Jovan Martinović and Daniele Sferra, L’Albania veneta. La Serenissima e le sue popolazioni nel cuore dei Balcani, Milan, Biblion, «Patrimonio veneto nel Mediterraneo, 6», 2012, p. 48.
50 Lucia Nadin Bassani, Migrazioni e integrazioni. Il caso degli albanesi a Venezia (1479‑1552), Rome, Bulzoni, «Contesti adriatici, 1», 2008, p. 15‑23.
51 Ibid. supra, p. 42‑43.
52 Pëllumb Xhufi, «Venezia in Albania», op. cit., p. 49.
53 Michael Knapton,«Tra Dominante e…», op. cit., p. 377; Savo Marković, «Barski patricijski rod Borisi u prošlosti: Jadran, Evropa, Mediteran», Povijesni prilozi. Historical contributions, vol. 24, no 28, 2005, p. 71‑105, <https://hrcak.srce.hr/en/file/19522>; Andrei Pippidi, «Tre antiche casate dell’Istria. esempi per lo sviluppo di un gruppo professionale: i dragomanni di Venezia a Costantinopoli», Quaderni della Casa Romena di Venezia, vol. 4, 2006, p. 61‑76; Noel Malcolm, Agentes del Imperio. Caballeros, corsarios, jesuitas y espías en el mundo mediterráneo del siglo xvi, Barcelona, Galaxia Gutenberg, «Serie Ensayo», 2016 [2015], p. 253‑265; Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 41‑60.
54 Marco Moroni, «Propaganda fide, i collegi illirici e l’Albania», in Ardian Ndreca (a c.di), L’Albania nell’archivio di Propaganda Fide, Città del Vaticano, Urbaniana University Press, «geographia evangelica», 2017, p. 169.
55 Ibid. supra, p. 192.
56 Noel Malcolm, Agentes del Imperio…, op. cit., p. 49.
57 Cited in Artan Fida (a c.di), Relazioni dei viaggiatori ecclesiastici italiani in Albania nel xvii secolo, n.p., CISVA, 2009, II.
58 Italo Sarro, «L’azione missionaria promossa dalla Congregazione di Propaganda Fide nell’Albania del xvii e del xviii secolo», in Ardian Ndreca (a c.di), L’Albania…, op. cit., p. 62; Molnár Antal, “The Catholic Missions and the Origins of Albanian Nation‑Building at the beginning of the 17th Century”, Acta Balcano‑Hungarica, 1, 2019, p. 67‑91.
59 Peter Bartl, «Italienische Bewerber um den albanischen Thron: Savoyen – Mantua – Parma», in Robert Elsie and Bardhyl Demiraj (hrsg), Die Albaner in der europäischen Geschichte: ausgewählte Aufsätze, London, Centre for Albanian Studies, «Albanian studies, 28», 2017 [2016], p. 86‑118, (Monograph of selected contributions published by Peter Bartl). On Albanian and Montenegrin blood feuding and peace‑making, also see Angelika Ergaver, “‘First my Brother, then a Blood‑taker, then my Brother forever’. The Efficiency of the Traditional Peace‑making Custom in Early Modern Age Montenegro and the Role of the Venetian Authorities in the Peace‑making Process”, Acta Histriae, vol. 25, 2017, p. 179‑206, <https://zdjp.si/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/AH_25-2017-1_ERGAVER.pdf>.
60 Antonello Biagini, Storia dell’Albania dalle origini ai giorni nostri, Milan, Bompiani, «Storia», 1998, p. 22; Antun Sbutega, Storia del Montenegro. Dalle origini ai giorni nostri, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, «Storie, 11», 2006, p. 105‑121.
61 Antun Sbutega, idid. supra, p. 121‑122.
62 Peter Bartl, «“II vescovato più misero”: la diocesi di Pulati durante la dominazione turca alla luce dei resoconti delle visite pastorali», in Ardian Ndreca (a c.di), L’Albania…, op. cit., p. 28‑30.
63 Vincenzo Zmaievich, Notitie universali dello stato di Albania e dell’operato da monsignor Vincenzo Zmaievich, arcivescovo di Antivari, visitatore apostolico di Albania, 1702, published by Peter Bartl (ed.), Quellen und Materialien zur albanischen Geschichte im 17. Und 18. Jahrhundert, Munich, Trofenik, 1979, p. 11.
64 “The more enlightened Pashas could always see the positive effects of the friars’ presence, especially in the mountains. While the friars preached the Gospel and catechized the population, they also ensured that the people continued to live in their villages and pay taxes, thus ensuring that the tax revenue did not suffer […]. Officially, the relationship with the Catholic clergy was one of rough tolerance, meaning that they were allowed to provide spiritual services as long as they paid an annual tribute”. Italo Sarro, «L’azione missionaria…», op. cit., p. 55‑57.
65 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 49‑54.
66 Ardian Ndreca, «Prefazione», in Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 11.
67 Bernardo Benussi, Parenzo nell’evo medio e moderno, Parenzo, Tipografia di Gaetano Coana, 1910, p. 43‑47; Bartolomeo Vergottin, Breve saggio…, op. cit., p. 43.
68 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 103.
69 Sergio Anselmi (ed.), Italia felix…, op. cit.; Patrizia Resta, Un popolo in cammino. Le migrazioni albanesi in Italia, Lecce, Besamuci, «Verbamundi, 5», 1996; Italo Sarro, Albanesi in Italia. Percorsi migratori (sec. xv‑xviii), Nardò, Besamuci, «Entropie, 93», 2019.
70 Miroslav Bertoša, «L’Istria veneta…», art. cit., p. 154.
71 Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, De’ commentarj…, op. cit., p. 373.
72 Ibid. supra, p. 376.
73 Bernardo Schiavuzzi, «Cenni storici sull’etnografia dell’Istria», Atti e memorie della Società istriana di archeologia e storia patria, vol. xviii, 1902, fasc. 1‑2, p. 91; Carlo De Franceschi, L’Istria…, op. cit., p. 340‑342.
74 Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 111‑114.
75 Ibid. supra, p. 111.
76 Mariano Bolizza, Realissima e minutissima descrittione e relatione del sangiacato over ducato di Scuttari, manuscript dated Venice, 25 May 1614, published by Artan Fida (a c. di), Relazioni dei viaggiatori ecclesiastici, op. cit., p. 2. Bolizza was a nobleman from Kotor.
77 José M. Floristán, «Una petición de ayuda militar de los habitantes de Albania, Bosnia Hercegovina, Serbia y Montenegro a Felipe III de España (1612‑1614)», Shêjzat‑Pleiades, vol. 5, nos 1‑2, 2020, p. 261‑283; Peter Bartl, «Italienische…», op. cit., p. 78‑118.
78 Mainly from Šušanj, Sosina and Sutomore.
79 Archivio di Stato di Venezia [ASVe], Senato [S], Dispacci dei Rettori [DR], Dalmazia [D], fz. 9, not numbered [n.n.]. Kotor, 15 September 1610.
80 Ibid. supra. The Descrittione d’alcune fameglie albanesi partite dal territorio di Bar per andare ad abitar nell’Istria can be found in ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n., undated (perhaps December 1610‑January 1611). Specifically, the document mentions 28 families, 99 individuals, 56 men and 43 women.
81 The rettore of Kotor, Girolamo da Molin, to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n. Kotor, 3 December 1610.
82 The rettore of Kotor to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n. Kotor, 5 February 1611.
83 Ibid. supra.
84 Michael Knapton, «Tra Dominante e…», op. cit., p. 329.
85 The rettore of Kotor to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 9, n.n. Kotor, 5 February 1611.
86 Marco Antonio Venier, provveditore generale of Dalmatia, to the doge, ASVe, S, Dispacci, Provveditori da terra e da mar, b. 272, nua. 424, n.n. Zara, 16 January 1611.
87 The Rašpor captain, Pietro Bondulmier, to the doge. Buzet, 4 November 1610, ASVe, S, DR, Istria [I], fz. 6, n.n.
88 Ibid. supra.
89 “If [these refugees] find such comfort, I believe that there will be no lack of people coming from abroad to settle in this province”. Ibid.
90 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 4 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
91 Ibid. supra.
92 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 7 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
93 “Of course, it was only by the Lord’s grace that so many people stayed healthy in a not very big frigate, for so long, at a very bad time of the year, badly dressed, without food and, if you like, full of every kind of need”. Ibid. supra.
94 Ibid.
95 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 12 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz., n.n.
96 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 7 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
97 On Borisi, see Giacomo Filippo Tommasini, De’ commentarj…, op. cit., p. 404‑405; Savo Marković, «Barski patricijski…», art. cit., p. 82‑83.
98 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 7 February 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
99 The doge, Leonardo Donà, to the Rašpor captain (first letter) and to the podestà and the Koper captain (second letter). Venice, 26 February 1611, ASVe, S, Deliberazioni, Secreti, reg. 100, cc. 222v‑223r.
100 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
101 The doge to the Rašpor captain (first letter). Venice, 26 February 1611, ASVe, S, Deliberazioni, Secreti, reg. 100, c. 222v.
102 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 13 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Fifteen others were recorded as dying of illness seven months later. Pula, 18 October 1611, ibid supra.
103 Ibid.
104 Report of Giovan Battista Grisoni, pertegador pubblico of the Istrian province. S.l., 15 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
105 Ibid. supra. Carlo De Franceschi (L’Istria…, op. cit., p. 374) quotes 1,239 plots granted between Duimo and the 18 families.
106 Ibid. supra.
107 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 27 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
108 “These people show a great desire to do well”. The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
109 Report of the pertegador pubblico of the Istrian province. 15 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
110 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 13 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
111 Ibid. supra.
112 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 6 April 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
113 Ibid. supra. The newcomers were ready to go to the doge in person, but the captain discouraged them by advancing and distributing another three ducats per head of household. Buzet, 18 April 1611. ASVe, S, DR, I, n.n.
114 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet,7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. At forty ducats per yoke, there were only 180 ducats left for other expenses.
115 The Rašpor captain to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Pula, 18 October 1611.
116 The Rašpor captain to the doge, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Poreč, 13 December 1611.
117 Ibid. supra.
118 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 131.
119 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Koper, 6 January 1612, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
120 This was the description offered by the Rašpor captain about the guide Luca de Zorzi. The Rašpor captain to the doge. Pula, 18 October 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
121 Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 136.
122 During the colonization between 1621 and 1623, two priests, Father Zorzi Arman and Father Porrubba, were responsible for the transfer of refugees and their subsequent redistribution throughout Istrian territory. Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 70‑71 and 111.
123 Darko Darovec «Migration to Istria…», op. cit., p. 216; Lia De Luca, Venezia e…, op. cit., p. 136‑137.
124 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Pula, 18 October 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
125 The rettore of Kotor, Girolamo de Molin, to the doge, referring to Vucassin’s words. Kotor, 1 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 10, n.n.
126 The rettore of Kotor to the doge. Kotor, 27 July 1611, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 10, n.n. When Zorzi travelled to Istria for the first time, the Rašpor captain thought that he was dealing with a new Luca Duimo, due to the kind of guarantees he gave. The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 26 August 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
127 Report of Giovan Battista Grisoni, 15 March 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n., s.l. He continued: “What seems worse to me is that so many people have come without the least animals and full of misery, and above all that there is no chief among them to protect them”.
128 The rettore of Kotor to the doge. Kotor, 7 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 10, n.n. The letter came with a list of the names and surnames of the heads “of some Albanian families who move to inhabit Istria”. The list included the number of men and women in each household, categorized by gender. The Rašpor captain shared the same concern, fearing that [Zorzi] “would arrive on these shores with a large group of people, making it difficult for them to disembark”. The Rašpor captain to the doge. Pula, 18 October 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
129 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 16 September 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
130 This is what happened to a family from the village of Trumpsi, near Shkodër (two women, two children, and five able‑bodied men). The rettore hid them and eventually managed to get them onto a frigate at night. The rettore of Kotor to the doge. Kotor, 25 September 1611, ASVe, S, DR, D, fz. 10, n.n.
131 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 13 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
132 Without a leader, the Rašpor captain forced them to appoint the eldest as župan. Ibid. supra. These families benefited from 700 plots.
133 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Koper, 6 January 1612, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. According to Rino Cigui («Alcuni aspetti della vita socioeconomica a Umago», Histria, vol. 3, 2013, p. 56,) in 1612 a group of eight Albanian families settled in the hamlet of Malladelle, located in the village of Petrovija, near Umag. The 700 plots of land provided were described as “uncultivated, thorny and stony” and distributed “with the obligation to transform them into a perfect crop”; the rest of “the unsuitable areas” might be used “for animal grazing”. In 1627, more Albanians arrived and strengthened this settlement. Ibid. supra.
134 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 13 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
135 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
136 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Poreč, 13 December 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Matteo Mandalà suggests that “the difficult living conditions of the new settlers” were “the cause of widespread lawlessness and outbreaks of violence, which were resented by the indigenous population”. From the late 17th century, prejudice against the Albanians grew in the Poreč area because of their perceived insolence and tendency to violence. This communis opinio persisted until the 19th century. Matteo Mandalà, L’immigrazione…, op. cit., p. 81‑88. See also Miroslav Bertoša, «‘Sudditi di natura grava’. Banditismo nel Parentino nel Seicento e nei primi decenni del Settecento», ACRSR, vol. xvi, 1985‑1986, p. 277, <https://crsrv.org/PDF/Atti/Atti-16/Miroslav-Bertosa-Sudditi-di-natura-grava-banditismo-nel-parentino-nel-seicento-e-nei-primi-decenni-del-settecento.pdf>.
137 Ibid. supra.
138 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Buzet, 7 June 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6.
139 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Pula, 18 October 1611, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n.
140 The Rašpor captain to the doge. Koper, 14 January 1612, ASVe, S, DR, I, fz. 6, n.n. Accompanied by a reappearing Luca de Zorzi, the group also stopped in Zara and received 1,000 lire worth of rusk from the provveditore of Dalmatia. Finally, they wanted to stay in the rural area of Novigrad.
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Titre | Map 1: Situation of Venetian Albania in 1610 |
Légende | Ottoman domains are marked in red. |
Crédits | Base map: <https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=2432>. Place names added by author. |
URL | http://journals.openedition.org/diasporas/docannexe/image/17296/img-1.jpg |
Fichier | image/jpeg, 124k |
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Bruno Pomara, « An Attempted Albanian Settlement in Istria Orchestrated Together with Venetian Authorities (1610‑1612) », Diasporas, 43 | -1, 95-127.
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Bruno Pomara, « An Attempted Albanian Settlement in Istria Orchestrated Together with Venetian Authorities (1610‑1612) », Diasporas [En ligne], 43 | 2025, mis en ligne le 11 juin 2025, consulté le 10 juillet 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/diasporas/17296 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/144eb
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