Piana degli Albanesi, the most important center of the Albanians of Sicily. Arbëreshëvet.

Piana degli Albanesi, in the province of Palermo, is the most important center of the Albanians in Sicily and the most populous Arbëreshë settlement in Italy. In the Albanian language the town is called Arbëreshëvet.
Located on a plateau, the Fusha plain, at the foot of Monte Pizzuta, on which the lake of the same name of Piana degli Albanesi extends, the town offers many points of interest and certainly deserves a careful visit.

The local community has maintained its culture, traditions and language unchanged over the centuries, which is still commonly spoken and taught in schools across the town today. You can get in touch with this reality, visiting the city and getting closer to the locals. The history of the Albanians in Sicily (and in the rest of southern Italy) is very interesting and dates back to the Ottoman invasion.
Furthermore, Piana degli Albanesi offers an interesting urban layout with a clear late-medieval matrix in which Byzantine origins are mixed with the more recent Sicilian Baroque.
The numerous Greek Orthodox churches and monumental fountains scattered all over the irregular plot of the historic center testify to this.
Strolling through the maze of alleys, stairways (shkallet) and neighborhoods (gjitoni), the common spaces between the buildings, discovering sudden passages under barrel vaults and unexpected arches, stopping to observe the votive shrines or the testimonies of the Arbereshe tradition, is a unique and fascinating experience.
And for those looking for nature, the Piana degli Albanesi lake is a protected oasis entrusted to the WWF and included among the hiking trails of the Sentiero Italia that retrace the ancient mountain communication routes. Absolutely not to be missed.
Not to be missed are the cannoli from Piana degli Albanesi, among the best in Sicily. Strictly made with ricotta, freshly prepared by the skilled hands of local pastry chefs, they are a delight for the palate. You can't leave Piana degli Albanesi without trying at least one.

This video was shot in October 2021, using a GoPro Hero 7 and a Lumix GH5. The photos are by Francesca Sparatore using a Nikon D7500.
Editing was done with Final Cut Pro X.
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