Kristina Gentile Mandala (1856–1919) was an Arbëresh writer from Italy. An early documenter of Arbëreshë fairy tales, she is considered one of the first Albanian women writers.
![The Albanian writer Kristina Gentile Mandala](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/Kristina_Gentile_Mandala.jpg/220px-Kristina_Gentile_Mandala.jpg)
She was born in 1856 in Piana degli Albanesi, a village in Sicily.[1][2][3] Her family was Arbëreshë, an Albanian ethno-linguistic group in Italy.[2][3] She studied at the Collegio di Maria in Piana degli Albanesi.[2]
Mandala is considered a pioneer among Albanian literary women alongside Dora D'Istrias.[2][3][4] She was also among the first writers to compile Arbëreshë fairy tales.[1][2][3] In addition, she produced two books of poetry: Pugare (1887) and Fatmeni (1887).[2][3][5][6] She wrote for various periodicals, notably the magazine Fiamuri Arbërit and its successor Arbri i Ri.[2][7][8]
Her work was influenced by the Albanian writers Girolamo de Rada and Demetrio Camarda.[2] She was supported in her work by her younger cousin, the poet Giuseppe Schirò, whom she supported in turn in the early days of his literary career.[2][9]
Mandala wrote in Arbëreshë, though her work was sometimes translated into Italian.[7]
References edit
- ^ a b Halla, Barbara (2019-02-20). "Barren Landscape: Who is Afraid of Albanian Women?". Asymptote. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Shukriu, Edi (2016-08-17). "Kristina Gentile Mandala, one of the first Albanian writers". Gentlewomen. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ a b c d e Shukriu, Edi (2000). Gra të shquara shqiptare: I (in Albanian). Forumi i Gruas i LDS-së.
- ^ "Në përvejetorin e Poetit Arbëresh Zef Skiroj". Hylli i dritës (in Albanian). 1944. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ "Bibliografia albanese". Arbitalia (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- ^ Ferraro, Enrico (2016). Bibliografia Arberesca: letteraria, linguistica, folklorica, storica, etnografica e artistica (PDF) (in Italian). Associazione Culturale Arbitalia.
- ^ a b Pitrè, Giuseppe (1894). Bibliografia delle tradizioni popolari d'Italia (in Italian). C. Clausen.
- ^ "Le Instituzioni Educative in Albania dal 1878 al 1913" (PDF). Università degli Studi di Macerata (in Italian). 2014.
- ^ Mandala, Matteo (2020-12-26). "Letrat që Luigi Pirandello ia shkroi Zef Skiroit". Daily News (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-17.