Calabria and Albania have a common history, strongly rooted in the Arbëreshë communities who have lived in Southern Italy for over six hundred years and are still today the symbol of profound social and cultural integration. The documentary “Gjuhë e Zemrës – La Lingua del Cuore” was born on these assumptions, a focus on Albanian and Arbëreshe culture and on the contamination with/in Southern Italy.
Sonia Golemme’s project: Identity and freedom
The document is conceived and promoted by Sonia Golemme, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Catanzaro, who in recent days was hosted by the University of the Arts of Tirana to present it: «I want to express my deepest gratitude to the University of the Arts of Tirana for the extraordinary welcome and for offering me the prestigious space to present the documentary project to students and teachers – said Golemme upon returning to Italy -. The project was born from the need to document a cultural survival: that of those who, like me, proudly recognize themselves in the Arbëreshe identity and see the language as the first form of freedom and belonging.”
International cooperation and cultural exchange
Golemme, in thanking the rector of the Albanian University, Erald Bakalli, the professor Pjeter Guralumi, who embraced the project idea and supported it, added: «Between resistance and native language, between present and past, the heart of the project oscillates along a narrative line suspended on a sea that does not divide, but becomes the reflection of a common history. I am happy to have found listening and enthusiasm in the coordinator of the Faculty of Performing Arts, Alert Celoaliaj, and in Elida Rapti, art historian and psychologist: the discussion and exchange of ideas with them was a source of cultural enrichment based on the universal value of brotherhood. Finally, I want to give a special mention to the Scenic Art students because with their exam auditions which I had the pleasure of attending, they were able to move me deeply.”
Innovation and future: The Metaverse Performing in Catanzaro
The trip to Tirana also served to present the Metaverse created by Golemme for the Performing project, financed by the Ministry of University and Research through Pnrr resources, to teachers and students of the Albanian University. Metaverso Performing will be the protagonist of the second edition of the festival which will be held in Catanzaro in March and which will mark the conclusion of Performing’s two years of activity. In the next few days, all the details of what promises to be a truly global village of performing art will be presented and illustrated, in which the national partners of the project and leading artists on the national and international scene will be involved.