Albanian resistance to the Ottoman Empire, with support from Naples and the Vatican, continues mostly in Albania's highlands, where the chieftains even oppose the construction of roads out of fear that they will bring Ottoman soldiers and tax collectors.

The Albanians' fractured leadership, however, fails to halt the Ottoman onslaught.

Krujë falls to the Ottoman Turks in 1478; Shkoder succumbs in 1479 after a fifteen-month siege; and the Venetians evacuate Durres in 1501.

The defeats trigger a great Albanian exodus to southern Italy, especially to the kingdom of Naples, as well as to Sicily, Greece, Romania, and Egypt.

Most of the Albanian refugees belong to the Orthodox Church.

Some of the emigres to Italy convert to Roman Catholicism, and the rest establish a Uniate Church.

The Albanians of Italy will significantly influence the Albanian national movement in future centuries, and Albanian Franciscan priests, most of whom are descended from emigres to Italy, will play a significant role in the preservation of Catholicism in Albania's northern regions.