Reggimento Reale Macedone

[akritas]

Is known that after the Ottoman ocupation of the NW Greece many Greeks settle in the South Italy in order to avoid the islamitazion from the Turks.

These Greeks mainly were Epirotans but also and Macedonians. The period that started this immigration were after the death of the Georgios Kastriotis. Georgios Kastriotis was knows as Ruler of the Epirus and Albania from some books (16th cen) that published from the Albanian and Epirotans settlers in Italy.

The Greek presence in the South Italy showed from the establishment of many schools and Churches. In 1736 the Ruler of the Neapols Charles C (1716-1788) recognized the Greek infrection in the all sectors (education, religion, people) moved on at the region of the Abruzzo bestowal lands and the creations of College , Church and of a Military Corp. This Corp named as "Reggimento Reale Macedone" or Royal Regiment of Macedonia.

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

Did they settle in the same areas as the ancient colonies in southern Italy?

[akritas]

Originally Posted by PhiliptheUniterchaeronea

Did they settle in the same areas as the ancient colonies in southern Italy?

Except the Greeks also settle Christian Albanians in order to avoid the islamization. That's why more Arvanites here beleive that the Albanians immigrants were Arvanites because theirs language are more close in the Arvanitiki.

[akritas]

From Konstantinos Vakalopoulos book (History of the Epirus) page 94,

In 1534 new settlements(Greeks from Epirus and Macedonia) were also founded in the southern parts of the Kingdom of Naples with the blessing of Charles V (1500-1558); later they received the blessing of Philip I1 (1527-1598). Similar immigration took place under the Bourbon Charles I11 of Naples (1716-1788), who also commissioned in his army a Royal Macedonian Regiment (Reggimento Reale Macedone), granted extensive lands to the refugees in the Abruzzo, and gave his permission in 1736 to the establishment of both a Greek Orthodox diocese and a college for the education of Greek youths.

In 1744, seventeen men, three women, and a priest from the Epirote village of Pikerni settled at Badessa in the province of the Abruzzo, where they built an Orthodox church to house the icon of the Madonna of Kremizova, which they had brought with them from Epirus.

I want more help as about this issue from the Greeks that live in Italia.