Shtjefën Gaspari

Shtjefën Gaspari (c. 1650 - 1690) (Italian: Pietro Stefano Gasparo) was an Albanian Catholic Bishop who lived in the 16th century.[1][2] He was born to Nikola and Maria. Gaspari studied in the College of urban in Rome together with Frang Bardhi.[3] In 1670, he was employed as an Apostolic visitor in Albania which he took on with dedication. The relationships he made during the visits in the Albanian areas was made with precision. Three years later, in 1673, he became the Bishop of Sapa (Zadrimë) who had previously been ruled by Pjeter Budi.

Travels

Gaspari began his travel in Skopje on July 18, 1671, at the town cathedral which had been turned into a mosque by the Turks.[4] He wrote down the churches of Pult, Shkodër, Sapë and Lezhë. In mars 1672 he went for Durrës and began in Kurbin (Mali Bardhë, Selitë e Vogël, Gallatë, Vinjoll, Skuraj) and then for Kthellë e Poshtme.[5] When he entered Mat he went for Prell. He passed Selitë, Dukagjin, Urakë, Macukull, Ceba, German, Bushkash and Baz. In the spring the same year, he traveled from the highlands of Tirana up to Cermenike where the inhabitants had given up their catholic faith due to the lack of clerics and high taxes from the Turks. He mentions how the men had changed names to Muslim ones while in secret they attended masses. In his report he describes how only the town of Polisi had maintained four strong churches.[6] In Bastar, eight months before Gasparis visit on April 28, the Turks had turned the church into a mosque. During his travel he entered the village of Mat in Our te Bardhë and Martanesh where many of the villagers had left their faith with only 400 remaining Catholic. A priest named Dom Ndreu and Marin held masses for them. In his report he states that the region had been split up by four bishops who now had disappeared. They were the bishops of Arberi, Shen Shtjefnit, Benë and Klosi. Gaspari wrote that many churches had fallen down and that whole villages had gone over to Islam.[7]

gollark: Also redundancy.
gollark: I support having multiple nations or something similar around to provide choice of governance system.
gollark: There don't seem to be viable alternatives at this point.
gollark: Vaguely based in reality. Not that much sometimes.
gollark: What?

References
  1. "Kishat e Matit më 1672 sipas vizitorit apostolik në Shqipëri, Shtjefën Gaspari". Dars (Klos), Mat - Albania (in French).
  2. Bartl, Peter (2007). Albania sacra: Diözese Alessio (in Italian). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 108. ISBN 9783447055062.
  3. Steele, Richard (1715). An Account of the State of the Roman-Catholick Religion Throughout the World. J. Roberts. p. 46. Stefano Gaspari.
  4. Elsie, Robert (2015). The Tribes of Albania,: History, Society and Culture. I.B.Tauris. p. 239. ISBN 9780857739322.
  5. Sheldija (1902 - 1976), Gjush (Kolec Çefa). Kryeipeshkvia Metropolitane e Shkodrës dhe Dioqezat Sufragane ( shënime historike ) (PDF). Gjithsejt: 68 faqe Shkodër, 1957-1958. p. 32.
  6. "Historia 700 vjeçare e kishes se Shen Mehillit, Malbardhe, Kurbin". kurbini.info (in Albanian). 30 September 2016.
  7. Tanner, Marcus (2014). Albania's Mountain Queen: Edith Durham and the Balkans. I.B.Tauris. p. 20. ISBN 9781780768199.


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