Italian colonists in Albania

The Italian colonists in Albania were Italians who, between the two world wars, moved to Albania to colonize the Balkan country for the Kingdom of Italy.

Albania had held strategic importance for Italy since the Renaissance, when the Republic of Venice controlled some areas of the Albanian coast (called Albania Veneta). In addition, southern Italy contained Albanian-speaking communities (Arbëreshë people), who had taken refuge there from the Ottoman invasion of Albania during the Skanderbeg era, and who were favorable to a possible union of Albania and Italy.

At the end of the 19th century, Italian naval strategists eyed the port of Vlorë (Valona in Italian) and the island of Sazan (Saseno) at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë. The port would give Italy control of the entrance to the Adriatic Sea. Also, Albania could provide Italy with a beachhead in the Balkans. Before World War I Italy and Austria-Hungary had been instrumental in the creation of an independent Albanian state. At the outbreak of war in 1915, Italy seized the chance to occupy the southern half of Albania, to prevent the Austro-Hungarians from capturing. That success did not last long, as post-war domestic problems, defeat in the Vlora War, and pressure from US President Woodrow Wilson, forced Italy to pull out in 1920. But Italy retained the island of Saseno, in front of Valona, that was annexed to the Province of Zara in Italian Dalmatia.

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