Hasan Aliaj, the voice of the « Roots », was awarded the millennium medal from the municipality of Grottaferrata and the Millennium Committee in the monastery of San Nilo

By Albert Vataj

At a time when cultural identity and historical memory often remain in the periphery of attention, there are individuals who make sense of endurance and dedication to roots. One of them is Hasan Aliaj – a publicist, journalist and director of the Root newspaper, who was recently honored with the millennium medal from the municipality of GrottAferra and the Millennium Committee in the monastery of San Nilo. This rare assessment, which was submitted to a solemn ceremony by the Mayor, Mr. Di Bernardo, is not just a price for a figure, but a sign of honor for a long mission in the service of Arbitrary culture and Albanian memory. It marks a symbolic and spiritual return to the place where everything began – in the premises of the San Nilo Monastery, where the idea of ​​the newspaper « Root » was conceived.

Hasan Aliaj is a well -known name in Albanian journalism and publicity in the Diaspora, founder and director of the Cultural Gazette « Roots », who has published in Rome since 2003. Through this newspaper, he has kept a rare mission alive: preserving, promoting and testifying to our historical and cultural heritage in the Albanian lands and in the diaspora. « Roots » has become a platform where scholars, writers, historians and lovers of national identity have found space to share their work. It has been awarded in some planes, including the « Best Gazette of the Year » by the Alternative Pegasian Academy in 2017.

Finally, Hasan Aliaj has shared another achievement with deep emotional and symbolic load. Through a announcement on his Facebook profile, he announced that from the Municipality of GrottAFERRATA and the Millennium Committee in the monastery of San Nilo, the millennium medal was awarded, an admirable assessment of the content and importance it carries.

« This award brought me back in time, » Aliaj writes, « in the last century, when I met Arbëresh monks at the San Nilo Monastery and continuously attended the two libraries rich in materials and old manuscripts. In these premises of great importance, through the Arbëresh monks, I was first acquainted. »

Aliaj’s memories are not only personal nostalgia, but also evidence of the invisible traces that Arberia and the Arbëresh diaspora have left in the cultural and spiritual formation of many generations. In fact, San Nilo’s monastery is not only a monastic space, but an important center of intercultural dialogue, where traces of Arbëresh culture are preserved with dedication.

« It was here that the Root Gazeta began its journey, where in every issue, various historical-cultural articles and studies on the Monastery, Arberia, GrotAferrata, as well as early history, from antiquity to the present day, of my beloved homeland, have been published and continued to be published. »

In an act that unites the symbolism of the past with the honor of the present, Hasan Aliaj concludes his confession, remembering the moment when the mayor of Grottaferrata, Mr. Di Bernardo, handed over the medal.

This award is not merely a personal recognition for Aliaj, but a reverence for all those who have worked quietly to keep our roots alive – through speech, through memory and dedication to the homeland.