Gabriele Dara was born on 8 January 1826 in Palazzo Adriano, a town in Sicily, southern Italy.

[5] His early works include verse in the Italian language and a poem in Arberesh dedicated to Saint Lazarus.

Dara's best-known work is Kënka e sprasme e Balës (The last song of Bala) originally written in Arbëresh language and later translated into Italian.

[4] Kënka e sprasme e Balës is a four-part epic romantic ballad containing nine cantos and recounts the adventures of Nik Peta and Pal Golemi, two Albanian heroes that lived in the era of the League of Lezhë.

In July 1900 it was fully published in Arbëresh and Italian in the journal La Nazione albanese (The Albanian Nation).