Katana VentraIP

Griko people

The Griko people (Greek: Γκρίκο), also known as Grecanici in Calabria,[4][5][6][7][8][9] are an ethnic Greek community of Southern Italy.[10][11][12][13] They are found principally in regions of Calabria and Apulia (peninsula of Salento).[14] The Griko are believed to be remnants of the once large Ancient[13] and Medieval Greek communities of southern Italy (the ancient Magna Graecia region), although there is dispute among scholars as to whether the Griko community is directly descended from Ancient Greeks or from more recent medieval migrations during the Byzantine domination.[15]

Total population

54,278 (2005)[1]

22,636 (2010)

500 (2012)[2][3]

A long-standing debate over the origin of the Griko dialect has produced two main theories about the origins of Griko. According to the first theory, developed by Giuseppe Morosi in 1870,[16] Griko originated from the Hellenistic Koine when in the Byzantine era [...] waves of immigrants arrived from Greece to Salento. Some decades after Morosi, Gerhard Rohlfs, in the wake of Hatzidakis, claimed instead that Griko was a local variety evolved directly from the ancient Greek.[17]


Greek people have been living in Southern Italy for millennia, initially arriving in Southern Italy in numerous waves of migrations, from the ancient Greek colonisation of Southern Italy and Sicily in the 8th century BC through to the Byzantine Greek migrations of the 15th century caused by the Ottoman conquest. In the Middle Ages, Greek regional communities were reduced to isolated enclaves. Although most Greek inhabitants of Southern Italy have become entirely Italianized over the centuries,[18] the Griko community has been able to preserve their original Greek identity, heritage, language and distinct culture,[12][14] although exposure to mass media has progressively eroded their culture and language.[19]


The Griko people traditionally speak Italiot Greek (the Griko or Grecanico dialects), which is a form of the Greek language. In recent years, the number of Griko who speak the Griko language has been greatly reduced; the younger Griko have rapidly shifted to Italian.[20] Today, the Griko are Catholics.

Name[edit]

The name Griko derives from the traditional name for Greeks on the Italian peninsula, it is believed to derive from the Graecians, an ancient Hellenic tribe which according to legend took their name from Graecus. They were one of the first Greek tribes to colonize Italy. The area that came to be known as Magna Graecia took its name after them. The Latins used this term in reference to all Hellenic people because the first Hellenes they came into contact with were the Graecians, hence the name Greeks. Another opinion is that the ethnonym Γρῆκος/-α does not derive linguistically from either Latin Graecus or Greek Graikos; it may have been the term their ancient Italic neighbors used for local Greek speakers in pre-Roman times, although this is only one linguistic hypothesis among many.[21]

Apulia

Province of Salento

Province of Salento

Alliste

Calabria

[22]

La Piana di

Monteleone

Official status[edit]

By Law no. 482 of 1999, the Italian parliament recognized the Griko communities of Reggio Calabria and Salento as a Greek ethnic and linguistic minority. This states that the Republic protects the language and culture of its Albanian, Catalan, Germanic, Greek, Slovene, and Croat populations, and of those who speak French, Provençal, Friulian, Ladin, Occitan, and Sardinian.[45]


Messina is home to a small Greek-speaking minority, which arrived from the Peloponnese between 1533 and 1534 when fleeing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. They were officially recognised in 2012.[46]

Pitta and Lestopitta - a traditional Greek-Calabrian bread from the region

Bovesia

Ciceri e ttrìa - A form of served with chickpeas. Traditionally this dish was consumed on the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March in Grecia Salentina.

Tagliatelle

Cranu stompatu - a wheat dish, prepared in a simple way, by soaking and pounding the wheat

ricchiteddhe - type of

macaroni

minchiarieddhi - a type of long

macaroni

sagne ncannulate - a wide up to inch and a half

tagliatelle

triddhi - irregular shaped pasta, specifically used for making

Broth

Mendulata te cranu - a dessert similar to , filled with cream cheese, honey, sugar and vanilla

Pastiera

Le Cuddhure - a traditional Griko cake made during Easter, from the Greek

Koulouri

Tiaulicchiu - Hot , extensively eaten throughout Grecia Salentina, they are usually stored dry, or preserved in jars of oil, with the addition of slivers of garlic, mint, and capers

Chili peppers

Sceblasti - a traditional type of hand made bread from the Grecia Salentina region.

[86]

Aggute - a traditional Greek-Calabrian Easter bread from the region, it is prepared with a mixture of flour, eggs and butter and the surface is decorated with painted hard boiled eggs, similar to the Greek Tsoureki

Bovesia

Scardateddhi - traditional Greek-Calabrian wedding sweets, made from flour, honey and anise seeds which are shaped like small doughnuts. They are then cooked in boiling water, and sprinkled with brown sugar before being served.

The traditional cuisine of Salento and Calabria has been heavily influenced by Griko culture. The Griko are traditionally producers of cereals, vegetables, olives and legumes.[86] Local Griko cuisine does not differ greatly from the local Italian population, however there local regional variations. Many typical Griko dishes are still in use among them. Some of them are mentioned below.


A book about the cuisine of the Griko of Salento has been published, entitled Grecia Salentina la Cultura Gastronomica.[87] It features many traditional recipes distinctive to the Grecia Salentina region of southern Apulia.

(died 236)

Pope Anterus

(c. 650–707)

Pope John VII

(679–752)

Pope Zachary

(910–1005), a saint born to a Greek family in Rossano, Calabria.

Nilus the Younger

(c. 945–1001), of Greek origin from Rossano, Calabria.

Antipope John XVI

(c. 1290–1348), Aristotelian scholastic scholar and clergyman of the 14th century.

Barlaam of Seminara

(died 1366), Greek Calabrian scholar, was one of the earliest promoters of Greek studies in Western Europe.

Leontius Pilatus

(c. 1444–1517), Greek scholar, academic, doctor and humanist from Galatone, Apulia.

Antonio de Ferrariis

(c. 1458–16th century), priest of the Greek-Catholic Rite, humanist, philosopher and theologian from Zollino, Apulia.

Sergio Stiso

(c. 1854–1918), writer and poet.

Vito Domenico Palumbo

(1885–1965), writer and poet.

Domenicano Tondi

(1926-2023), Italian-American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz whose paternal ancestors were originally from the Griko town of Podargoni in Calabria.[88][89][90] His ancestors immigrated from Calabria to the United States where Tony was later born.

Tony Bennett

(in Griko: Frangos Korlianòs) (born Calimera, 1948 - died 2015), poet, songwriter, painter.

Franco Corliano

(born Calimera, 1929 - died Calimera, 2014, historian, linguist.

Rocco Aprile

(-2008), scientist.

Ernesto Aprile

Dorotea Mercuri, 1974, model, actress.

Griko language

Greek diaspora

Stavroula Pipyrou. The Grecanici of Southern Italy: Governance, Violence, and Minority Politics. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.  978-0-8122-4830-2.

ISBN

Coordination of Grecìa Salentina Associations

Enosi Griko

("Don't reproach me, my son"), a song in the Griko language performed by a local

Mi mu cuddise pedimmo

Lo "Schiacúddhi" Two plays performed in the local Greek dialect of Choriána (Corigliano d'Otranto)

Franco st'Anguria

a famous Griko song by Franco Corliano about immigration, with modern Greek translation, performed by Encardia. The full title of the song is "O Klama jineka u emigrantu", ("Lament of the emigrant's wife") but, commonly, the title is shortened to "Klama" and it's widely known as "Andramu pai" ("My husband goes away")

Andra mou paei

Paleariza 2009 Bova Grico di Calabria