20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

802 Tănase BujduveanuSkopje, Avlona, Durazzo. They had representatives in the Italiantowns. They used Ragusta to sell and export the goods produced inMoscopole and Ancona and Apulia to send their goods in all the BalkanPeninsula. The caravans carried the goods from Moscopole to Durazzo andfrom there they went to all corners of Europe. The merchants in Moscopolehad their representatives in their own wharehouses in the ports of Durazzoand Valona. Foreign travellers such as Leake, Pouqueville, Berard speakabout the crafts in Moscopole, sources for the trading among villages andtowns in the Balkan Peninsula. Their products could be found in Elbasan,Cavaia, Tirana, Berat, Castoria, Larissa etc.XII. The LibraryMoscopole had a very large library. The Academy, the printing pressand the library were among the cultural institutions of the town. The librarycomprised French and Italian books, religious books, books written by theprofessors at the Academy, extremely valuable manuscripts. The scholarsfrom Moscopole who had their education in the west or people who travelledto the west brought literature to Moscopole. They also brought educationalbooks, books of History, Philosophy, Geography and religious books. Thehalls of the library were places of debate for the scholars of Moscopole.The library also had a bookshop.XIII. The New AcademyThe cultural state of the Aromanians differed from period to period. Inthe 18 th century Moscopole became a powerful Aromanian cultural centrewith cultural institutions that were the rivals of western institutions.XIV. The Printing PressBecause the Balkan Peninsula was occupied by the Ottoman Empire theprinting press could not develop in Greece and it was more present in Italy,the Austrian Empire and the Romanian Principates. There were printingpresses using the Greek alphabet set up in France, England, Germany, theNetherlands and Russia, but they were not permanent.XV. Men of CultureWithout personal forms of cultural expression in their national language,included spiritually, culturally and religiously in the life of the Greeks andless in the life of the Slavs and the Albanians, and despite the autonomythey had, the Aromanians in the Balkan Peninsula went through a severeprocess of des-nationalisation even though they always had an acute senseof their national identity. This national awareness was strengthened by the