Salvatore Franco, starting from his Firmo, an Arbëresh village in the heart of the Pollino National Park, always tries to tell the story of his love for his mountains and his Arbëreshë roots. His folk group Zëmërat e Rea travels between Italy and Europe proudly displaying the arbëreshë costumes and melodies. He talks about his mountains both with the excursions he organizes as an official guide of the Pollino National Park and recently also as a writer. In fact, the novel “Padrone e Sotto – the game of life” was released a year ago and offers a journey through Calabria between the 1950s and 1970s. The book has seen several occasions for debate both in Calabria and outside the region, participating in particular in the Turin Book Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair, Tirana and Palermo.
His story also attracted the attention of the Ministry of Culture which selected one of his proposals, including it among the books to be published, granting its institutional patronage. This editorial project, soon available online and in bookstores, has started an institutional connection between Calabria and Albania through the collaboration between the Association of Official Guides of the Pollino National Park and the Center for Studies and Publications on the Arbëreshë of Tirana. The book will become an important testimonial for the promotion of Pollino’s identity. «Salvatore Franco’s books – declares the publisher Renato Costa – are journeys that lead to discovering community stories, the Arbëreshë language and culture. Salvatore embodies the healthy values of his land and with his own merits has obtained this important recognition from the Ministry of Culture. It is demonstrating that Arbëria still has the strength to tell its story and attract interest. The collaboration between the Pollino Official Guides and the Tirana Study Center is an important support for achieving this goal, and I thank Doctor Andrea Vacchiano and the Executive Director Diana Kastrati for having accepted the proposal. Readers have no choice but to follow Beroe to find out the release date of the book!