Preserving Heritage, Connecting Generations
About Made in Arbëria
At Made in Arbëria, identity meets innovation.
We are a cultural platform created to preserve and promote the unique heritage of the Arbëreshë community — descendants of Albanians who settled in Southern Italy centuries ago.
Made in Arbëria is not just a marketplace.
It’s a vibrant ecosystem of authentic products, local traditions, cultural tourism, and digital storytelling.
From artisanal foods to handcrafted goods, every item is rooted in a real place, a real story, and a proud identity.
Our mission is to connect generations, support local artisans, and inspire global discovery — whether you're browsing from Calabria, Tirana, or Toronto.
A strategic proposal for the Italy of villages, culture, and new generations
Made in Arbëria is a project born with a clear vision: to enhance the identity, culture, and heritage of the Arbëresh communities spread throughout the villages of southern Italy, while at the same time activating concrete processes of local development, youth inclusion, and territorial regeneration.
The Arbëresh villages – guardians of an ancient and living culture – represent an ideal laboratory where new models of sustainable growth can be tested, capable of combining tradition and innovation. The Arbëresh communities are the result of historical migrations dating from the 15th to the 18th century, when populations of Albanian origin settled in Italy to escape the Ottoman advance.
These communities took root in several regions – Calabria, Molise, Sicily, Basilicata, Campania, Apulia, and Abruzzo – preserving through the centuries their own language, the Byzantine religious rite, and a distinct culture, today regarded as an integral part of Italy’s cultural heritage. Currently, there are 54 municipalities officially recognized as Arbëresh, mostly located in rural inland areas, often far from major urban centers. In addition, there are an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people of Arbëresh origin in Italy, along with a large international diaspora spread across Europe, North and South America, and Australia.
However, like many Italian villages, these communities face depopulation, demographic aging, and a lack of services and opportunities for young people. Today, their cultural survival depends on their ability to become attractive, dynamic places that generate value for those who live there.
The Context: A Generation Suspended Between Roots and the Future
The data emerging from the recent study “Stay, Leave, Return” (Tecnè, 2025) are eloquent and directly concern the Arbëresh territories as well:
75% of young people living in villages identify the lack of employment as the main reason for leaving.
68% would stay if there were greater professional and educational opportunities.
63% recognize in their village a strong sense of community and identity.
These figures confirm the urgency to take action: there is a generation that does not want to leave, but today cannot stay.
Made in Arbëria aims to bridge this gap, offering a platform that restores meaning, perspective, and future to these places.
A Project for Italy, Europe, and Beyond
Made in Arbëria is, in essence, a project of cultural, economic, and social regeneration.
It is a concrete proposal to build a more balanced Italy—one that does not abandon its most fragile territories, but rather recognizes them as strategic places of innovation and identity.
It offers a real answer to a pressing question: how can we keep young people in villages, while valuing their history and offering them a dignified future?
To achieve this vision, a broad institutional pact is essential—one that involves the Parliament, Ministries, Regions, local authorities, and the European Union.
Made in Arbëria stands ready to serve this vision.
The Diffuse Geography of Arbëria
The horizon of “Made in Arbëria” is to promote products and brands of Albanian cultural origin, wherever they may be created, preserving and revitalizing the shared Albanophone heritage.
The name was chosen specifically to symbolize the cultural commonality of Albanians beyond geographical boundaries.
Arbëria refers to a historical-cultural concept that encompasses all Albanian communities, both within and beyond Albania.
The initiative begins with the Arbëresh communities of Italy and will continue with others in the Balkans, as well as in Argentina, the Middle East, Ukraine, and beyond.
The Made in Arbëria Project
Made in Arbëria is a digital, cultural, and productive platform that aims to unite the diverse spirits of Arbëresh communities—both in Italy and around the world—into an inclusive and innovative ecosystem.
Through an interactive portal, the project seeks to:
Promote cultural tourism in Arbëresh villages, focusing on authentic experiences connected to language, music, religious traditions, and gastronomy.
Enhance local production through a dedicated eCommerce system for artisans and agricultural producers in the region.
Create job opportunities in the fields of creativity, digital marketing, culture, and social innovation.
Build a recognizable brand, “Made in Arbëria,” that tells the story of this unique identity and turns it into an economic and reputational resource for the entire country.
Combine digital innovation and local tradition, responding to the new directions of cultural and tourism demand.
Activate intergenerational and community participation, connecting young people, the elderly, institutions, and associations.
Align with European objectives on cohesion, inclusion, sustainable development, and territorial resilience.
Strengthen the dialogue between Italy and the Albanian diaspora, creating cultural bridges and transnational collaborations.
The Arbëresh villages, thanks to their cultural richness and human dimension, can become true pilot laboratories for:
The experimentation of decentralized universities and local training programs;
The revitalization of local productive supply chains;
The creation of rural coworking networks and digital work opportunities;
Active policies for the return and settlement of young people in their native lands.
Promoting Entity: Obiettivo Remain
The project is promoted by the social enterprise Obiettivo Remain – Economic Routes in Southern Italy and Inland Areas.
Its mission is to redirect labor flows toward marginal areas of the country, fostering new professions with a high technological component, and using innovative tools to enhance the rich cultural heritage of the territories where it operates.
Obiettivo Remain is registered in the RUNTS – National Single Register of the Third Sector.
Made in Arbëria is the fruit of love for the Arbëresh language and invaluable heritage that inspires the members of Obiettivo Remain—professionals from diverse backgrounds united by the desire to create a project of cultural, economic, and social regeneration.
A Strategic Model for Territorial Regeneration
The value of Made in Arbëria goes far beyond the protection of linguistic minorities: it stands as a strategic model for the revitalization of Italy’s and Europe’s inland areas.
It represents a new paradigm for sustainable development, inclusion, and identity-based innovation rooted in local culture yet projected toward the future.
Geri Ballo
Cultural operator, former diplomat of Albania in Italy, and an Arbëresh by adoption. She has been dedicated for over ten years to the promotion and enhancement of the linguistic and cultural heritage of Arbëresh communities.
Giovanni Lattanzi
He has held numerous institutional roles, gaining solid experience in legislation, social and labor policies, and budget law.
He has collaborated with Italian and European parliamentary groups, working in various committees such as Budget, Finance, and Social Affairs.
At the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, he served as Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Undersecretary for Economic and Social Policy.
An expert in the Third Sector and international cooperation, he has led projects in Iraq, Syria, Albania, and Sri Lanka, addressing humanitarian crises, environmental emergencies, and sustainable development processes, as well as coordinating post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.
Value Provider Group
Value Provider Group brings together excellence in the fields of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), training, consulting, and data protection, and is among the founding partners of Made in Arbëria.
Through its business units — Commercey, PMable, Moon Recruit Professionals, Bot Medics Care, and ePrivacy — the group offers an integrated approach to business growth, digitalization, and innovation.
The Made in Arbëria project was also born thanks to the vision and commitment of Value Provider’s co-founders: Eldisa Cirogu, Bruno Paci, and Josiana Fullani, who actively contribute to the promotion and appreciation of Arbëresh culture through excellence and collaboration.
Our Team
Meet the People Behind Arbëria
Filaridella Rocca
Guiseppe Lala
Produces Cheese recognized as a Slow Food Presidium.
The owners of Arbëreshë businesses are often very young.
Why Choose Made in Arbëria?
Sourced directly from Arbëreshë communities in Calabria, Sicily, and Puglia — each item reflects true cultural identity, craftsmanship, and heritage.
All deliveries are traceable, reliable, and handled with care. We prioritize clarity, fairness, and respect for our artisans and customers alike.
Browse and shop in your preferred language — Italian, English, or German — with localized pricing and support.
We promote fair pricing, artisan-focused commerce, and flexible payment methods backed by secure systems and trusted gateways.
Watch Our Journey
Our cultural mission
Made in Arbëria was born to preserve the voice, craft, and identity of the Arbëreshë people.
From the first conversations in Calabria to cross-border collaborations, we’ve grown into a platform that blends tradition with technology — and community with commerce.
The making of a meaningful platform
Behind every feature is purpose:
We designed Made in Arbëria with care, combining digital storytelling, fair trade, and multilingual access.
The journey includes artisans, families, creatives, and developers — all working together to build a space where Arbëreshë heritage lives on and evolves.
