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| Mateo Shambra |
Arbëresh researcher Matteo Sciambra was born in the village of Kundia in Sicily. He studied at the Pontifical Seminary "Benedetto XV" of Grotaferrata and then transferred to the Greek Pontifical College "S. Athanasio" of Rome, to follow the course of Philosophy and Theology.
He was ordained a priest in "Hora of Arbëreshë" and first worked in the Arbëresh Seminary of Palermo. Afterward, he completed his higher studies in literature at the University of Palermo and began his university career as an assistant to Professor Xhuzepe Valentini, head of the chair of Albanian language and literature.
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| The cover of the "La Dotrina Cristiana Albanese" written by Luca Matranga |
To successfully carry out this didactic activity M.Sh. is devoted not only to the in-depth study of Albanian spoken in the various Arbëre communities but also of modern Albanian. His most important publications are: "Giuseppe Crispi Glaviano. On the mountain of Trundafilevet" (Palermo, 1963); "La Dottrina Cristiana Albanese di Luca Matranga. (the Vatican, 1964); "Stato attuale della parlata albanese di Contessa Entellina - Sicilly" (1964); "Bogdanica", vol. I, Bologna, 1965; "Evoluzione del linguaggio e del pensiero di Giuseppe Schirò dalla I alla II edizione del "Te dheu i i huaj" (1966). The studies of M.Sh. shed light on the life and work of Arbëresh women writers, as well as the activity of Arbëresh cultural, religious and ecclesiastical institutions. He also helped to preserve and evaluate the Byzantine liturgical musical wealth of the Arber communities, for which he left several summaries in the manuscript.