Visar Dodani (1857–1939) was a wealthy Albanian journalist and activist of the Albanian National Awakening.
Visar Dodani was born in Korçë, Ottoman Empire (modern Albania) in 1857.[1] In 1880 he moved to Bucharest, Romania, where he joined the Albanian association Drita (English: Light), major organization of the Albanian National Awakening. Drita had a newspaper Shqipëria (Albania) and it was published under the stewardship of Dodani.[2] In Romania, Dodani frequently wrote articles in Romanian newspapers regarding Albanian-related issues.[1] In 1896 the Romanian government offered him Romanian citizenship. Visar Dodani was also a founding member of the nationalist organization Lidhja Shqiptare Ortodokse.[3]
Dodani's newspaper, beginning in March 1898, advocated a view of the common Illyrian origin of Albanians and Romanians, and their shared contemporary struggle.[4]
In 1898 he published the Mjalt' e mbletësë a farë-faresh, viersha, të-thëna, njera-tiatra, dhe fytyra Shqipëtarësh me jetën e tyre, a folkloric collection of 247 pages, printed in the printing house of the Albanian Colony of Bucharest.[5] On 8 February 1903, Dodani published in Bucharest Trigelhim a Serb' e Zuzarevet ("The villains' ringing in Serbian), a collection of satiric poetry, dedicated to those who didn't want the testament of V.Tarpo (an Albanian expatriate) to come public.[6] In 1910 he translated and adapted the Il trovatore of Salvadore Cammarano in 5 acts.[7]
In 1915, Dodani settled in Geneva, Switzerland. He got involved with the Albanian diplomatic efforts there, serving as secretary of the local Albanian National Committee (Alb: Komiteti Kombëtar Shqiptar) led by Turhan Pasha and later by George Adamidi. In Autumn 1919, Dodani moved back to Romania. He died in Bucharest.
Notes:
| a. | His name appears as V.A.D., Vissarion A. Dodani, or Viskë A. Dodani as well. |
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