Marigo Posio

Marigo Posio was an Albanian patriot, activist, and embroiderer. She was born on 2 February 1882 in Hoçisht, a village near Korçë, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. She was the daughter of Papa Kosta Poçi and Lenka Ballauri, both from Voskopoja. She had two sisters, Urani and Angjeliqi, who married prominent Albanian politicians Kristo Floqi and Kostaq Kota, respectively. She also had two brothers, Niko and Kristo, who emigrated to the United States. She was a relative of Spiro Ilo, a signatory of the Albanian Declaration of Independence. Marigo attended the First Albanian School of Korçë, where she learned to read and write in Albanian. After the Ottoman authorities banned Albanian schools in 1892, she moved to Romania, where she joined the Albanian colony of Bucharest. She studied in the Albanian school founded by Nikolla Naço, the leader of the Drita Society and the publisher of the newspaper Shqiptari. She also worked in a printing shop, where she learned the profession of printing. In 1896, she moved to Sofia, Bulgaria, where she met and married Jovan Posio, a fellow Albanian patriot from Hoçisht. They settled in the Muradie neighborhood of Vlorë, where they opened a printing press called Mbrothësia. Marigo was one of the first Albanian women to engage in printing and publishing. She published the Diterëfenjës or Kalendari Kombiar, an annual almanac with patriotic and cultural content, from 1897 to 1928. She also published the journal Drita, which advocated for Albanian independence and education, from 1901 to 1908. She used the Istanbul Alphabet of Sami Frashëri until 1908, and then switched to the standard Albanian alphabet that was adopted at the Congress of Monastir. She published 37 books of Albanian literature, including works by Sami Frashëri, Spiro Dine, Mihal Grameno, Papa Kristo Negovani, and others. She also published the newspaper Liri e Cqiperise, which covered the events of the Albanian Declaration of Independence in 1912. Marigo is best known for embroidering the flag that was raised by Ismail Qemali on 28 November 1912 in Vlorë, marking the birth of the Albanian state. She made the flag according to a model given by Dom Mark Vasë, a priest and patriot. She cut the black eagle from satin and sewed it on a red cloth. She also made many copies of the flag and distributed them to various offices of the provisional government of Vlorë. Marigo was also a leader of the first Albanian Women Organization, which was founded in Vlorë on 13 May 1914. The organization aimed to help the wounded soldiers who fought in the border war with Greece. The organization also promoted the education and emancipation of Albanian women. Marigo was a supporter of Fan S. Noli and the June Revolution of 1924. She opposed the regime of Ahmet Zogu and was arrested and exiled several times. She suffered from tuberculosis and lost her eyesight in the last years of her life. She also wrote and published many poems, such as the one dedicated to Avni Rustemi, a hero of the Albanian revolution. She died on 23 February 1932 in Tirana, Albania. She was buried in the public cemetery of Tirana, but later her remains were transferred to the Zvërnec Monastery near Vlorë. She is considered one of the most important figures of the Albanian National Awakening and the Albanian culture.