Giuseppe Schirò (Arbërisht: Zef Skiroi; 10 August 1865 – 17 February 1927)[2] was an Arbëresh neo-classical poet, linguist, publicist and folklorist from Sicily.However, his main passion remained classical and Italian folklore and literature, which he taught in 1888–1894 at the Garibaldi secondary school in Palermo.[7] In 1900 he was appointed professor of Albanian language and literature at the Istituto Regio Orientale (Royal Oriental Institute) in Naples,[8] where he would remain until the end of his life.He often advocated Italy's role, with its strong Arbëreshë minority, as a protector of the weak Albanian state against the hostile intentions of its Balkan neighbours.Schirò publicly defended the Mafia administration of Cuccia several times, considering it "the most suitable for the peaceful development of the best qualities of its people," able to open "a new period in our history."[2] According to the scholar in Albanian literature and folklore, Robert Elsie, Schirò “first succeeded in blending the romantic elements of Arbëresh folk verse with the artistic precision of Italian classical and neo-classical poetry to form a harmonious and balanced poetic corpus.
The hymn "
O mburonjë e Shqipërisë
" (O protector of Albania), collected in
Canti Tradizionali ed altri Saggi delle Colonie Albanesi di Sicilia (1907)
«Pro Albania» demonstration in Piana degli Albanesi in 1911 (in the center the poet)
Marble plaque placed on the house of the Italo-Albanian poet