Note antropologiche sulla “Relatione Universale dell’origine, e successo della Missione Apostolica de Frati Minori Osservanti Riformati del Serafico Padre S. Francesco nel Regno d’Albania” di P. fra Giacinto da Sospello

In 1652 Father Giacinto Sicardi da Sospello, Prefect of the Missions of the Reformed Friars Minor Observant of St. Francis in Albania, collected a series of reports from his confreres on the work of evangelization promoted by Propaganda Fide. The manuscript reports a range of customs and traditions of the Albanian people that most likely date back to earlier times and were preserved in the fis(tribes) of the northern mountains. The work of the friars, in addition to recording these customs, aimed to modify them to adhere to the Catholic model prescribed in the Council of Trent. Surprisingly, some of the customs reported by Giacinto da Sospello were preserved until the early twentieth century, when another Franciscan, Father Gjeçovi, collected them and put them in writing in Lek Dukagjini's Kanun.