did with the figure of Spyros Spyromilios. The most cited figure with which the Himariotes proud themselves through their past is Skanderbeg. The Himarë region was one example where Christian Albanians during the Ottoman period could carry arms and have a rather independent life. In the second half of the 16th century, Himarë was one of the cities of southern Albania that maintained the pre-Ottoman Christian character. It did not have a single Muslim family. By the end of the century, an Italian author states that the Himariotes are peoples of Albania who speak Albanian and adhere to the Greek Orthodox rite. The Ottomans managed to register the population for taxation purposes in 1583. Kristo Frashëri describes the list as having predominantly Albanian anthroponymy. The town of Himarë had 130 households and 7 orphans, where the most common names and surnames were Dhima/Dhimo, Gjon, Kont/Kond, Gjin, Gjoka; the village of Dhermi had 50 households and 3 orphans, where most common anthroponyms were Gjin, Dhima/Dhimo, Kond, Todor; the village of Palase had 95 households, where the most common anthroponyms were Dhima/Dhimo, Jorgo, Pali, Andrea, Nika/Niko. Oliver J. Schmitt notes that in the 16th century Ottoman registers the anthroponyms of Himarë includes not only Albanian, Greek, Orthodox but also Slavic baptismal names. In 1632 Albanian-language schools were founded in Himarë. During the Ottoman period, the people of Himarë established close links to the Italian city states, especially Naples and the powerful Republic of Venice, which controlled Corfu and the other Ionian Islands, and later with Austro-Hungary. In 1743, Albanian families from Piqeras, Lukovë, Klikursi, Shën Vasil and Nivica-Bubar migrated to Italy and founded the village Villa Badessa in Abruzzo, where the Arbëreshë dialect is still spoken.Guida d'Italia: Albania, Touring Club Italiano, Milano, 1940, ISBN 88-365-1148-1, pg. 86 After the death of Skanderbeg, successive waves of Albanians from regions such as Himarë moved to Italy, and often settled in depopulated places; they are known as Arbëreshë. The first school in the region opened in 1627, where lessons were held in the Greek language. The following years (until 1633) Greek-language schools opened also in the villages of Dhërmi and Palasa. During the Ottoman period, judicial authority in Himarë and the surrounding villages was exercised by community courts also known as "councils of elders", that consisted exclusively of laymen. Their decisions was subject to the sanction of the local Orthodox bishop who belonged to the