Tra lingua e declamazione: il percorso di De Rada con Puoti e Bidera

The relationship between Girolamo De Rada and Naples proved both profound and decisive in shaping his cultural and political development. Naples provided De Rada with the opportunity to engage directly with liberal, democratic, and nationalist currents of thought. Within this intellectual milieu, he elaborated his vision of a cultural and political renaissance of the Albanian people, frequently conceived in parallel with the Italian struggles for independence. He became immersed in a dynamic cultural environment, marked by the classicist and purist rigor of Puoti on the one hand, and the romantic and patriotic openness of Bidera on the other. As a young Arbëreshë student, De Rada encountered in these two figures opposing yet complementary intellectual poles. Naples thus emerged not merely as the city of his studies, but as the crossroads of two traditions he would ultimately synthesize: Puoti’s formal and linguistic discipline with Bidera’s romantic and patriotic fervor.