Born in
Jerez de la Frontera,
Province of Cádiz in
Andalusia in 1845, he was the illegitimate son of Isabel Aladro de Pérez and nobleman
Juan Pedro Domecq Lembeye. He attended school in his local town until 1862. After that he studied law in
Sevilla. In 1867, he entered the diplomatic services and was sent as a diplomat of Spain in various parts of Europe,
Vienna, Paris (1869),
Brussels (1870),
The Hague (1872),
Bucharest. He reached the top of his career under the era of
Alfonso XII. After Alfonso's death he settled in Paris where he lived on an income from his
winery-estates that his father left him in 1869. He is regarded as a
sportsman and possessed a remarkable collection of racing horses. Don Aladro kept contact with the Albanian
Rilindas and was idealized by some of them as a rightful heir for a future throne of independent Albania. He visited
Sicily and
Calabria where he kept contact with the
Arbëreshë notables in order to support his cause. Aladro visited the
Montecassino Abbey searching for documents which supported his claims as a Kastrioti descendant. Aladro assisted financially the
La Nazione Albanese newspaper of the Arbereshe publicist
Anselmo Lorecchio, who from his side promoted him back. He also financed a person named Visko Babatasi as his emissary in Albania to distribute money, revolvers, and postcards with Aladro's picture and the Albanian flag, promoting his name through the Albanians. This became so evident that the Ottoman authorities prohibited the postcard distribution at a certain point. Many of the postcards are still available today. Babatasi embezzled the funds and went to the
United States. According to Vlora's
Memoirs, the Albanian flag which was raised during the
Albanian Declaration of Independence in
Vlorë on 28 November 1912 was a gift of 1909 from Don Aladro to him. The official Albanian version stands that
Marigo Posio (a native of
Korçë residing in Vlorë) embroidered it during the night. Eqrem Vlora confirms that the flag was requested from him by the organizers of the event, and was given to Posio to make copies. In 1913, the
Albanian Congress of Trieste was held. Between other things, the congress discussed the name of the future prince. Aladro was one of the candidates, and had some support. But the
Great Powers did not like a Catholic candidate for the throne due to Albanian mixed religious nature and to possible opponent from non-Catholic communities (see:
Religion in Albania) as well as considered Aladro "a starter" in that direction. Aladro stayed in Paris where he directed a railway company, and died in a hotel in Lamartine Square in 1914. Back home, Aladro was considered a "perfect
cavalier, a devoted Christian, an excellent son, and a lover of art". He collaborated for some time with the newspaper
Basque Euskal Erria, ending his articles always with the phrase:
Euskalerria aurrera! Shkiperia perpara! ("Forward Euskal Erria! Forward Albania!"). Besides
Albania, he showed support for the
Basque cause, stating that his ancestors partly came from the
Bidania region. He was the author of a short story written in French, which was translated in Spanish and published in 1912 as
Sotir y Mitka (Sotir and Mitka), by Aladro's trusted man Jacinto Ribeyro y Soulés who was also the administrator of Aladro's properties. Juan Pedro Aladro got married in 1912 in
La Teste-de-Buch (in
Aquitaine,
France) to Juana Renesse y Maelcamp, a
Belgian countess, who had been previously married to the deceased Willem Jan Verbrugge, a
Dutch nobleman. After Aladro's death without descendants, the widow went to San Sebastián a Jerez, where the Domecq estates were, to close the heritage. She agreed on ceasing the 50% that her husband inherited from his father, in exchange of regular payments for life. She died shortly after. == Flag of Aladro Kastriota ==