Inside Italy’s ‘Little Greece’ with amphitheatre and ancient ruins – even locals speak Greek & it’s just 3 hours from UK
A SMALL village tucked away in the mountains of Southern Italy has held on to its 2,000-year-old Greek traditions.
Known as the the Acropolis of Magna Graecia, Galliciano is nestled on top of the Aspromonte mountain ranges in Calabria, Italy.
The small village has thrived for more than 2,800 years, with its unique history and language passed on from generation to generation.
The village boasts two churches, a Catholic church and a Greek Orthodox church – the latter set up high in the village and accessible via a series of stairs.
The climb might be challenging, but the views from the church are spectacular, with mountain ranges in the background and terracotta roof tiles spotted around.
A stone’s throw away from the Greek Orthodox church lies the ruins of an ancient amphitheatre – a throwback to historical ties to Magna Graecia.
And anyone who ventures into the village will find the locals speak Grecanico – a cross between ancient Greek and Italian.
But people moving out of the village towards the bigger city of Reggio Calabria means the language is starting to die out.
Mimmo Nuncera, a resident of Galliciano, has become somewhat of a tour guide.
According to Mimmo, there are approximately 30 people who live in the village.
He told THe Sun: “We want to teach the children so we don’t lose the language.
“We don’t know how old the village is, it was a long time ago, before Christ.
“It was always a small village, with a lot of people. We are Greeks from before Italy.
“This area in Calabria was always under Greek influence. From the time of Magna Graecia.”
On the way to the village’s museum, he stopped to explain the more traditional elements of the village.
He said: “You can see the old wheel which was used to sharpen knives.
“They would put the knife here and then turn the wheel. Over there they killed the pigs, goats and and sheep.”
A small cart with an honesty policy sits nearby the museum.
Mimmo explained: “Here is the supermarket. They have pickled red peppers, green tomatoes, eggs if you want them and wine.
“The sign is written in Grecanico. Good morning, welcome, good night, thank you.”
Picking up a book outside a home, Mimmo said: “It’s a language book for kids.
“We write the Greek words using the Latin alphabet because for many years we only had the language and we didn’t know how to write using the Greek alphabet.
“So this is how we write it.”
Speaking to The Sun, Galliciano local Giovanni Maesano said the village has tried to maintain the language.
He said: “We have maintained a little in these last 30 years with the meetings that they do in the towns of Bova Marina, Galliciano’ and Roghudi.
“Ddomadi Greek, is a school that takes place every year, meeting with other people from Reggio who have learned the language.”
To reach Galliciano, a car will be needed to drive up the mountainous roads, with closest airport in Reggio Calabria.
Inside ‘Little Wales’ in Argentina
By Annabel Bate
Nearly 8,000 miles away from the UK, you’ll find an enclave known as “Little Wales” – where signs are in Welsh and people love Wrexham.
For more than a century, there has been a little slice of Wales away from Britain found in the province of Chubut, Patagonia.
Some 70,000 people – with an estimated 5,000 of them who speak Welsh – live in the region of Y Wladfa in Argentina. They are the descendants of a group of settlers who moved there 150 years ago from Wales.
Signs are in Welsh, people speak Welsh, you can go to Welsh tea shops, and the regional flag is the blue and white of Argentina complete with the Welsh Dragon.
Welsh-Spanish schools have opened across the Chubut province and descendants of the settlers are working to preserve the language and culture.
