FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

11 December 2021 

CONTACTS

• Loris Guzzetta

• Will Coley

PRESS RELEASE: Italian/Sicilian Arbëreshë Calendar Highlights Endangered Culture in Sicily

 This month, Sicilian photographer Loris Guzzetta released the first ever photographic calendar in Italian and Sicilian Arbëreshë. The calendar brings attention to the endangered culture of an ethnic minority that has lived in southern Italy for more than 500 years. In 1485, Albanian refugees fled persecution in the Ottoman Empire and settled in Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise and Sicily. In the 21st century, these communities are rapidly losing their population along with their unique culture and language, “Arbëreshë” (a derivative of a medieval Albanian dialect).

Loris Guzzetta grew up speaking Arbëreshë in one of the Sicilian communities which is called Piana Degli Albanesi. After years working internationally as a fashion and beauty photographer, Guzzetta decided to focus his lens on his own community to document a culture which inspires him.  “These images that I have kept inside for years are my declaration of love for the cultural heritage to which I belong. Inside the calendar is the scent of our freshly baked desserts, the smell of incense on Easter day but above all the religious symbolism of Arbëresh women's clothes, unique in the world for their sumptuousness and opulence,” Guzzetta says.

Guzzetta recruited neighbors and family members for the project. Caterina Cangialosi, the central model, is originally from Piana. The vibrant red dress she wears was embroidered in gold at the beginning of the last century by the photographer's maternal grandmother on the occasion of her wedding. Her belt was a gift from her grandfather to her grandmother on the day of the engagement. Guzzetta’s nieces, who are learning Arbëreshë, appear in three photographs. Arbëreshë intellectual and collector Stefano Schiró contributed to accessories and styling. In collaboration with Schiró, Guzzetta’s mother, Anna Fileccia, assisted with researching the holidays and saint day celebrations each month and connecting with local vendors and community leaders. The photographs in the calendar are also expected to become an exhibition in the near future.

Originally from Piana degli Albanesi, Loris Guzzetta studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brera (Milan) and graduated in Visual Communication from the University of Birmingham in England. He currently lives and works in New York and among his clients counts internationally renowned brands such as L ’Oréal, Ann Taylor, Erno Laszlo and Beautyblender.

The calendar is available online here as well as at VisitPiana.com (international and Italian orders) and Mondo Bizantino (Italian orders).

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