01551nas a2200145   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002100001700043700001700060245011900077856014800196300001200344490000700356520104200363                                       d1 aRudina Hoxha1 aSilvana Nini00aWomen’s Role in Preserving Identity and Intangible Cultural Heritage in Arbëresh Communities of Calabria, Italy  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-86000469808&doi=10.36941%2fjesr-2025-0065&partnerID=40&md5=ff3e37db426f5d7bf8fb83e93c074fe2  a360-3710 v153 aWomen’s cultural heritages are collections of oral histories, songs, narrations, dances, and culinary and traditional knowledge that are preserved and passed from one generation to another, to document and honour the contributions from the society/community as a whole. In Arbëresh communities, women play nurturing roles in the family. As mothers, they raise babies, nurse and teach them the norms and values of the society. They are the primary caretakers of children and elders. They also play an important role in the transmission and conservation of language as an important pillar of Arbëresh identity to the new generations as mediators between the culture of the country of origin and the culture of the country in which the Arbëresh community resides. A major part of the society’s collective memory is women’s intangible cultural heritage. Over hundreds of years of historical evolution, women in Arbëresh communities managed to synthesize some or all of these influences. © 2025 Rudina Duraj Hoxha and Silvana Nini.