Demetrio Franco

Demetrio Franco it is not known of him the date of birth or death. It is a Historical figure and historian. Demetrio Franco, known by the Albanian neologism of Dhimitër Frangu,was born in Drivasto (Drisht) ofa Catholic family. He was a cousin of Paulus Angelus, who was archbishop ofDurrës and a close collaborator of Scanderbeg. Franco it was contemporary and in the service of Scanderbeg, and himself accompanied Scanderbeg to Italy in the winter of 1466–1467. After the death of Scanderbeg on 1468, Franco moved to Tivar and then to Venice, where he wrote in Latin and published the biography of Scanderbe, on 2 April 1480, at the printing house of the German Erhard Ratdolf 12 years after Scanderbeg's death. His foremost work is considerered to be Gli illustri e gloriosi gesti e vittoriose imprese fatte contro i Turchi dal Signor Don Georgio Castriotto detto Scanderbeg, principe d' Epiro, published also with the titleComentario de le cose de' Turchi, et del S. Georgio Scanderbeg, principe d' Epyrro, a biography of the national hero of Albania Skanderbeg.

Life

Franco was born in Drivasto (Drisht), Venetian Empire (modern northern Albania) in 14??. Through his mother he was member of the Angelus noble family and a cousin of Paulus Angelus, the Archbishop of Durrës and a close collaborator of Scanderbeg. Franco was in the service of Scanderbeg, secretary, treasurer, scribe, translator, and even fighter. Franco accompanies Scanderbeg to Rome in 1466–67. So he was the person who knew his life and his military exploits well. Plus he was also his nephew.The Venetian scholar Giovan Maria Bonardo, editor of the book of Franco, writes: "... a Book ... which was already written in Latin, by the reverend Demetrius Franco, who was personally in all those wars and all the valiant gestures of that prince, very well educated and informed ..." Importatnt : In this case, to draw up a good and real biography of Demtrio Franco, we must exclude the wrong and false information of the authors, Robert Elsie, and Mikel Prenushi, for which we have removed their deformations.

Sources

• Demetrio Franco : "Gli illustri et gloriosi gesti et vittoriose imprese cobtra Turchi fatte dal Signor Giorgio Castriotto detto Scanderbeg principe di Epiro, (manuscript, 1480), Italian translation 1584, in Venice.
• Paolo Jovio : "Commentario delle cose de Turchi et del Signor Gorgio Scanderbeg, prencipe d'Epirro., Venice, 1539.
• Jaques De Lavardin, Histoire de Georges Castriote surnommé Scanderbeg Roi d'Albanie, Paris 1576".
• Jean Nicolas Duponcet : "Histoire de Scanderbeg Roy d'Albanie",

Paris 1709.

• R.P. Duponcet : "Les exploits heroïque de Scanderbeg Roi d'Albanie,

Liège, 1854.

• Anonimo di Palermo : "Storia di Giorgio Castriotto sopranomminato Scanderbeg, principe d'Albania, Palermo, 1847.
• C.C. Moore, George Castriot Scanderbeg, King of Albania, 1850.
• Fan Stillian Noli : " Historia e' Sknderbeut§", Tirana, 1924.
• Harry Hodkinson Scanderbeg, London, 1999.
• Scanderbeg, Album commemoratif, Bruxelles, 2018

References