I read an article on gangland news that mentions multi ethnic mobsters and it mentions "Chin" as an Albanian. So was "Chins" parents Sicilians descended from Albanians in Sicily? This is what Im thinking. Sorry I couldn't find the article, but i saw this article when it was free at the time on gangland news, now you have to pay for a subscription. Sucks.

WOW! That guy know history...

So to sum it up:

Albanians moved to Souther Italy A WAY LONG AGO!!!
They settled in Southern Italy (Calabria, Sicily, Basilicata, Puglia, Campania, Abruzzo) in the 15th to 18th centuries AD in several waves of migrations, following the death of the Albanian national hero George Kastrioti Skanderbeg and the gradual conquest of Albania and throughout the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks.

Now if this makes Vincent Gigante an Albanian...I'm West African-American.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arb%C3%ABresh%C3%AB

The Arbëreshë are a linguistic and ethnic Albanian minority community living in southern Italy, especially the regions of Apulia, Basilicata, Molise, Calabria and Sicily.[2] They settled in Southern Italy in the 15th to 18th centuries AD in several waves of migrations, following the death of the Albanian national hero George Kastrioti Skanderbeg and the gradual conquest of Albania and throughout the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks. The Arbëreshë have their own distinct culture and have been able to preserve the original Albanian identity[3] over the centuries. Over the centuries the Arbëreshë have managed to maintain and develop their identities, thanks to their stubbornness and cultural value exercised mainly by the two religious communities of the Eastern Rite Byzantine Catholics, based in Calabria, the "Collegio Corsini" (1732) and then "Corsini-Sant'Adriano" in 1794 and Sicily in the "Seminario Greco-Albanese of Palermo" (1735) then transferred to Piana degli Albanesi in 1945. Today, most of the fifty Arbëreshë communities still preserve the Byzantine Catholics belonging to the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church of Eastern Rite.

The Arbëresh language is of particular interest to students of the modern Albanian language as it represents the sounds, grammar, and vocabulary of pre-Ottoman Albania. However, the Arbëreshë language has been influenced more by the Italian dialect than any other Albanian.
Anyway the arbesche are italian from century, many mantein only the surname, but are 100% italian.

There was some discussion on this sort of thing in another thread recently.

Its like, your family only got here in the sixteenth century; your a foreigner. Funny thing for the virulent racism that runs through many mobsters is the actual ethnographic histories of Southern Italian names and bloodlines.

i heard that vinny gigante relatives are from napoli, so it's impossible they were arberesh they never settled to napoli
even in other parts they were very small in numbers

Not even that sometimes. Most names were "italianized".
I met guys whose lastnames were Parisi, Abate, Contessa, 100% Italian...they were aware of their SUPER OLD Arbereshe heritage, but they felt 100% Italian.
There are many communities here in the States.

- New Orleans has a large group due to the fact that it was the first city Italian used to moved to (mid-1800s) and Arbereshe people were even poorer that the averenge Sicilian so they moved out earlier.

- Sacramento, CA. They have a folk feast every year. San Giuseppe.

- Even here in MI. Even if (with all the Albanians we have) they tend to feel more Italian.

They did settle in Campania. Smaller numbers than Calabria and Sicily, but they indeed settled there.
And Napoli was the center of that region.So it's possible that they were born in a small Arbareshe village and then moved to Napoli seeking for jobs...at least before moving here.

Joseph DioGuardi's family came from Greci, Avellino province.

Slightly off topic but related:

Regis Philbin is half Italian/Albanian, half Irish. His mother is of Arbëreshë heritage. He's a distant cousin of Kara DioGuardi, formerly of "American Idol," who's also of Arbëreshë heritage.

Nothing seems to be impossible when it comes to Italian ethnography. They've literally had all sorts over the centuries.



Interesting.

Anyone ever hear that Al Pacino was Jewish?

Also off topic but the Italian Marxist writer and philosopher Antonio Gramsci was also Arbershe.

Ive also read that the Genovese labor racketeer Johnny Dio DioGuardi was Arbereshe. I may be wrong on that but.

"They did settle in Campania"

not in napoli, i heard the only arberesh living in campania are in 1 village in avellino province
they never settled to napoli read about it

"And Napoli was the center of that region.So it's possible that they were born in a small Arbareshe village and then moved to Napoli seeking for jobs...at least before moving here."

yes like it's possible and i'm actually johnny depp

Replace "johnny depp" with "pathetic" and I'll agree with you.

pathetic me? lol
pathetic are albanian people who masturbate their minds about this kind of question
gigante was not arberesh period, they were not in napoli and even in the places they settled they were very little so the possibility of an italian has arberesh descent is very very small and even though he's 100% italian today

Why so confrontational? I dont think anybody can say definitively yes or no but for Gigante himself, and even he may not know. In any case...



You "heard"? If the Capeci article botz mentioned is indeed accurate, Id have to take Capeci's word over yours mate.

"Why so confrontational? I dont think anybody can say definitively yes or no but for Gigante himself, and even he may not know. In any case..."

are you serious? arberesh never settled to napoli so what are we talking about? honestly, it's more probable that george bush is italian than gigante arberesh
"You "heard"? If the Capeci article botz mentioned is indeed accurate, Id have to take Capeci's word over yours mate."

according to more accurate sources his family came from napoli and it's true

Thats fair enough; can you reference the "more accurate source"?

If you mean the Wikipedia page that states as much, there is no citation for it and Wikipedia, while great for certain things, its OC and LCN pages have been shown to contain a number of inaccurate, incorrect and disputed "facts".

Some examples would be the page on Steve Crea claiming his family came from Piedmont, while various sources and certain posters insist he is Calabrian. Or that on Daniel Leo, claiming his family came from the region of La Marche, while others have claimed Napolitan descent. Though in those cases the argument may just be disputing the notion that some US mobsters came from northern stock, and/or that of various other Italian states.

Is it relevant to his criminal career, beyond being "Italian"? Not really. Is it esoterically interesting to us crime-buffs? No doubt.

The thing is; it doesn't take "numbers". People/families move and migrate for any number of reasons. You cannot definitively say that no Abereshe families ever settled in Naples, simply because they settled in "numbers" somewhere else.

Im more interested in the fact the Gigante name may or may not have Albanian roots more so then his actual genetic makeup. He's obviously Italian. Cultural identity comes from self expression as well as ancestry IMO. If you identify as Italian, you're Italian. If you identify as Australian, you're Australian.

But now Im getting off topic...

There was certainly one guy that would have. He went by the name "JohnnyRed" (and several other names) over on the StreetGangs board a few years ago and was on the Real Deal for a short time before getting banned. His mission in life was to convince everyone Albanians were taking over anything and everything. That they had what he called the "Mafia gene" and were really the ones that spawned the Italian Mafia. Fortunately, he doesn't come around the forums anymore.

"If you mean the Wikipedia page that states as much, there is no citation for it and Wikipedia, while great for certain things, its OC and LCN pages have been shown to contain a number of inaccurate, incorrect and disputed "facts".

Some examples would be the page on Steve Crea claiming his family came from Piedmont, while various sources and certain posters insist he is Calabrian. Or that on Daniel Leo, claiming his family came from the region of La Marche, while others have claimed Napolitan descent. Though in those cases the argument may just be disputing the notion that some US mobsters came from northern stock, and/or that of various other Italian states.

Is it relevant to his criminal career, beyond being "Italian"? Not really. Is it esoterically interesting to us crime-buffs? No doubt.

The thing is; it doesn't take "numbers". People/families move and migrate for any number of reasons. You cannot definitively say that no Abereshe families ever settled in Naples, simply because they settled in "numbers" somewhere else.

Im more interested in the fact the Gigante name may or may not have Albanian roots more so then his actual genetic makeup. He's obviously Italian. Cultural identity comes from self expression as well as ancestry IMO. If you identify as Italian, you're Italian. If you identify as Australian, you're Australian."

it didn't come to wikipedia it was another source
like i said before i doubt there's even a single wiseguy in the whole lcn history from central-north italy or central-north italian descent they came all from the southern regions where the mafia is rooted
crea is obviously calabrian, that surname came from calabria for the most i don't daniel leo he could be sicilian or napolitan
yeah i can't definitively say there were not arberesh who settled in napoli like italians who settled in congo, who knows?
only an idiot could think there is even a single possibility over 30 millions that gigante relatives were arberesh since even in abruzzi and north calabria where they were mostly located they were very small in numbers
anyway believe what you want if it makes you better...

"There was certainly one guy that would have. He went by the name "JohnnyRed" (and several other names) over on the StreetGangs board a few years ago and was on the Real Deal for a short time before getting banned. His mission in life was to convince everyone Albanians were taking over anything and everything. That they had what he called the "Mafia gene" and were really the ones that spawned the Italian Mafia. Fortunately, he doesn't come around the forums anymore."

yeah i remember this johnnyred guy he was among the most idiot in the forums history, his stupidity was staggering
only an italian fanboy called faciulina in the same forum was as stupid as him

They were two peas in a pod.

What, like a neighbourhood source or something?


You're obviously one of those people (like "JohnnyRed" perhaps) that assumes its some nefarious "mafia" gene inborn in Southern Italians that precludes any others from taking that path?
As mentioned a number of time in various threads, I think the melting pot that is the American LCN stopped caring long ago where exactly in Italy you came from. As long as you had the name, an Italian dad and/or grandfather, and were a criminal.


So you're like an ethnographer? Then you'd know that the Italian surname "Leo" is believed to have "come" from the areas around the commune of San Leo in the region of La Marche (once part of the Urbino and Pesaro provinces but now part of Rimini and Emilia-Romagna after a referendum took effect)?

Kinda disproves you're theory that since its a such-and-such name they must come from such-and-such a place.


You say this, and admit you cant really prove your theory, but then...


WTF? Once again, you totally miss the point of my post. It seems you dont want discussion, you want "Im right, end of discussion", except this is a thread you cannot possibly be definitively "right" about.

So johnnyred, faciulina, m2w, whoever you are...only an idiot would be as rude as you are, and also incapable of actually backing up anything they say beyond claiming what he "heard". But hey, think whatever you want if it makes you feel better. It seems I wont be learning anything from you.

i read it on realdeal if i remember right



i never said nothing about mafia gene, but i suppose they all come from the provinces where the mafia was formed and it is rooted, even in north italy all the mobsters come from southern regions



you can find some typical southern surname in some north regions but they are probably immigrants from the south, and it's logic to think crea family came from calabria and leo family came from sicily or napoli




of course you can't prove anything too and the common sense says clearly i'm right about it



i use the logic, not what i heard

Guys, you're arguing about nonsense. Who really gives a fuck anyway?

Gigante was culturally Italian American, with familial roots in Southern Italy. That's all that matters. If you go back far enough in someone's lineage, the odds of finding someone who's "100%" Italian are pretty slim. Southern Italy is one of the biggest melting pots on the planet. Take a DNA test that goes back far enough, and you'll find that most Southern Italians have Greek, Arab and African roots.

You can't argue with science. All four of my grandparents immigrated here from Calabria and Basilicata. Culturally, I'm 100% Italian American. But I have no problem believing that back in the middle ages my ancestors may have been Greek, Arab or African.

Very well put pizzaboy.

I try my best, LuanKuci .

you forget spanish roots that are more important than all the other conbined, south italy was under spanish kingdom for centuries
african roots? it's incorrect only sicily was under arabs for a little while and that's all, greek? yes in some places but very very old roots

That's the point. Very, very, very, very old roots.

Southern Italy (Naples to Sicily) was a Greek colony for approx. 500 years (700BC - 200BC). It's not surprising the word 'Ndrangheta' has a greek origin. There are still pockets of communities in southern Italy speaking some form of greek dialect.

Also, people forget to factor in the large slave population around Rome (maybe 40%). These slaves came from all over the empire (France, Spain, Britain, Judea etc) and most likely melted into the population later. Like Pizzaboy said, it's a melting pot.

southern italy was under spanish kingdom from 1300 to 1700 long after the greeks
anyway most of people didn't mix with greeks or spanish since who ruled in the fact were local barons it's a mixed places like tons of other in the world not more not less
the ridiculous fact it's find some etnich roots after 500 or 1.000 years, it's like we trace our roots in africa were the human race probably was born lol