The Refugees of Parga

Francesco Hayez painted The Refugees of Parga around 1831, depicting the historical episode of 1819 when the Albanian coastal town of Parga was sold by the British to the Ottoman Empire, forcing its Greek Christian population to abandon their homes rather than submit to Muslim rule. The subject was a vehicle for the Italian Romantics' intense sympathy for Greek independence — the Greek War of Independence was ongoing — and for the broader theme of displaced people forced to choose exile over subjugation. The Risorgimento implications for Italian audiences — who saw their own situation in the Greek refugees' plight — gave the painting its immediate political resonance beyond its ostensible historical subject.

Hayez composes the mass exodus with emotional intensity, the grieving refugees rendered with rich, warm coloring against the Mediterranean landscape. The dramatic grouping and the eloquent gestures of despair create a powerful image of national displacement.