The peculiar and forgotten by many Greek element in Lower Italy

The presence of the Greek element in Italy is observed, already, from the prehistoric period, when the Mycenaeans established settlements in Central and Southern Italy and Sicily. During antiquity, however, the Italian peninsula south of Naples, including the coasts of Calabria, Lucania, Puglia, Campania and Sicily were colonized by the ancient Greeks with the migrations of the ancient Greek Diaspora in the 8th century. e.g.

The Greek settlements were so dense in Southern Italy that during the Classical Period the area was named "Magna Graecia", the famous Greater Greece. The Greeks continued to migrate to these areas in many waves from antiquity to the Byzantine migrations of the 15th century, mainly after the period of the Ottoman conquests.

To this day, in the areas of Calabria and Puglia, on the Salento Peninsula, in the old area of ​​"Magna Graecia" in southern Italy, there is an ethnic minority known as the "Greeks" or "Greeks" or "Greeks". It is believed that these are remnants of the ancient and medieval Greek communities, which had settled and lived in Lower Italy for centuries.

A minority unknown to the general public, even the Greeks, who are the heirs of a great historical tradition, which takes us back thousands of years to the past.

The name Greeks comes from the traditional name for the Greeks in the Italian peninsula, while it is attributed to the Graecians (Greeks), the ancient Greek tribe that according to legend took its name from Graecus. The Greeks were one of the first Greek tribes to colonize it Italy, while they owe the name of the area that became known as "Magna Graecia" (Greater Greece) in Southern Italy. The Latins used this term for all of them Hellenes (Greeks), while since the time of the Romans in most languages ​​the Greeks are referred to by the same term.

These populations are mainly found in Calabria, Movesia and Gretsia Salentina of Puglia. The Greek-speaking area of ​​Movesia is quite mountainous, while access there is quite difficult. A fact that in recent years has forced the descendants of the first inhabitants of the area to leave their place and move to areas closer to the sea.

The Greeks of Calabria live mainly in the villages of Bova Superiore, Bova Marina, Roccaforte del Greco, Condofuri, Palizzi, Gallicianò and Mélito di Porto Salvo, while in 1999 by decision of the Italian parliament the historical lands of the Greeks of the area were expanded and included the areas of Palizzi, San Lorenzo, Staiti, Samo, Montebello Jonico, Bagaladi, Motta San Giovanni, Brancaleone and parts of Reggio. Finally, in the area of ​​Grecia Salentina in Puglia, the descendants of the Greek settlers of the area are located mainly in apart Calimera, Martano, Sternatia, Zollino, Corigliano d'Otranto, Castrignano dei Greci, Soleto, Martignano and Melpignano, although the Greek element seems to be fading in the last three.

It is worth mentioning, however, that at the beginning of the 19th century the nine Greek-speaking cities of the area of ​​Grecia Salentina together with the villages of Soliano Kavour, Koursi, Canole and Koutrofiano were the so-called "Thirteen Villages" of Otranto, the same dialect.

The Greeks traditionally spoke the Greek language, a form of the Greek language that combines ancient Doric and Byzantine Greek elements, and today is known as the Kato Italian dialect or Greek. As for its origin, there are two prevailing theories. The first, which is also embraced by Italian linguists, wants the Greeks to come from the language of the Byzantine settlers of the 9th century and the second, which is the most prevalent and supported by Greek linguists, argues that the Katoatili dialect is its evolution ancient language of the Greeks, with a strong element of many donations.

The towns and villages inhabited by the Greeks, except for the areas of Movesia and Gretsia Salentina, have almost completely lost their language idiom, something that was observed mainly in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

During the 20th century the use of this language was considered, even by the Greeks themselves, a symbol of regression and an obstacle to their development and progress, which is why parents began to discourage their children from speaking the dialect, while students who spoke that particular language at school he was punished. For many years, in fact, the Greeks in Calabria and Puglia had been forgotten, while the fact that even in Greece, the existence of the Greeks and their linguistic idiom was (and continues to be) unknown.

The Giko national awakening began in Grecia Salentina through the intense efforts of Vito Domenico Palumbo (1857–1918), a resident of Calimera. Palumbo was the one who began the restoration of cultural contacts with mainland Greece, studying the folklore, mythology and music of the Greeks of Greater Greece. The revival of attention to the morals, traditions and language of the Greeks is also due to the German linguist and philologist Gerhard Rohlfs, whose pioneering work contributed to the documentation and preservation of the Greek language.

Also important is the work of Professor Ernesto Aprile, also from Calimera, who until his death in 2008 considered it his personal responsibility to support his community in preserving and further developing the traditions of the Greeks. He has published numerous monographs on the local and national dissemination of his community culture, and has acted as a recognized but unofficial ambassador to visitors and officials of his town and seaside neighborhoods near Melendugno.

It is worth mentioning that, despite the difficulties and adversities that this small Greek had to face from time to time minority In Italy -mainly after the Second World War there were intense efforts to Italianize the Greek element with the new generation, now, not knowing the specific dialect at all- in recent years there is a new cultural boom through, mainly, music.

An important year for Greek culture was in 1999 when the Italian Parliament recognized the Greek community of Salento as a "Greek national and linguistic minority". Since then, Greeks have been taught in schools in the area again, and many cultural efforts are being made to preserve the dialect. Bands from both Greece and Italy record old songs in the Kato Italian dialect or recreate new ones in order to keep this special culture alive and to pass it on to future generations.

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