Sitting in a classroom watching Greko teachers do their thing, I felt a huge sense of pride and relief. Greko was the language of Calabria for most of the last 2800 years, yet when the Catholic Church closed Greek monasteries and took possession of Greek Orthodox churches circa the 1600s, the language declined. Migration out of Calabria hasn’t helped as people leave for more opportunities
By the start of this century, Greko was spoken in just a few beautiful villages and towns at the toe of Calabria and in some streets of Reggio. Griko, another ancient dialect, is spoken in nine towns in Apulia Salentina, though over a century ago it was 13 towns.
I sat transfixed to Freedom Pentimalli’s engaging learning techniques which included a learning circle and last day teaching under the trees next to the Gerhard Rohlfs Museum in Vua, which opened in 2016. Freedom is a younger Greko speaker and works most of the year as a hiking guide. Just like the other younger Greko I have met in the last few years, there are dozens if not hundreds of younger Greko speakers. Most of these speakers are from Greko heritage while others come from across Italy and sometimes from abroad.
Fabio Surace who plays lyra most nights in Bova Marina and his Calabrian born father Antonino live in London. They host the Calabrian radio show Radio Surace which is also the name of their website. They wanted to reconnect with their ancestral roots. Fabio has just produced a short documentary on his time in Calabria for his English colleagues. Their website includes a few of the Grecanica traditions he came across.
Speaking of film, David Carbone worked with Danilo and Freedom to produce a documentary on local traditional music which was screened as part of the program.
The beauty of the Greko youth is that they run To Ddomadi Greko, “Greko/Greek Week” in Bova Marina.
This is a picturesque seaside town with a beach, Greko museums, a number of Greko speakers, Modern Greek street signage and Ristorante Mediterraneo, my favourite Greek restaurant in Europe outside Greece/Cyprus or London. It’s run by Salvatore Dieni, who speaks both the old dialect and Modern Greek.
For a visitor to Greko week or for the almost 70 students you will be in Greko heaven. Two classes are taught including one for the advanced speakers led by Professor Salvino Nucero, a wonderful man who now lives in Locri and Dr Tito Squillaci.
Dr Squillaci is a man who inspires. He and his family live in Bova Marina and as a Greko, he has always spoken to his family in Greko and now his grandchildren. The students hang off every word of the two wonderful teachers, and I myself enjoy listening to their history talks and insights into Greko
One of the beauties of the program is that each student will get to enjoy the Greko culture for the Greko towns always await the student visits. There is always some form of music nightly as people immerse in the Greko and Calabrian music.
This was the tenth year of the program and from board games in Greko, yes we played board games in the heatwave and loved every minute of the interaction, to seeing kindergarten/primary school kids attend for lunch daily to learn Greko. Their teachers at neighbouring Palizzi also speak Greko!
Bova Marina of course embraces the Greko. Bars and shops welcome them and on one night, during a festival, the Greko music played all night. A highlight was watching the president of To Ddomadi Greko, Pantaleone Danilo Brancati, playing on stage, joined by Greko students singing in Greko.
I usually stay at Hotel Il Girasole at the beach and aside from some Modern Greek greetings, I was blown away one afternoon when the owners’ son Egidio spoke to me in Greko. On another day a friend of his joined in on speaking Greek at the beach, he of course though was from Chios and didn’t speak Greko.
I love Calabria, enjoying my “arguments” with people who extend Greek hospitality, filotemo. Carmelo Trapani is one such person and he was the first and last person I met on this trip, enjoying a last minute lunch at his home with his family in Reggio. His mother Francesca Tripodi was born in Roghudi which is now a ghost town. She was a great poetess and lived in the same neighbourhood as her son and other Greko speakers. I am sure I could feel her spirit. I met the other and son for the first time in 2018.
Another Carmelo, Dr Carmelo Nucera is based in Reggio too and had arranged my meeting with the poetess back then, listening to her recite Greko poetry. He is from a different association, Apodiafazzi, and along with writer Dr Pat Porpiglia, they are my oldest friends in Calabria going back to 2002 when they drove me to a number of Greko towns.
I know that the future of Greko is bright. The kids. The kids make the difference. One night in the mountain village of Galliciano where I caught up with some familiar faces at the taverna and Greek Orthodox Church, I could feel the presence of a long Greko future ahead. I was glad to see Maria Olimpia Squillaci again, a wonderful person who introduced me to elders across the towns on a previous visit. I will always be indebted to her and I marvel at what a fantastic human being she is. She takes after her parents
Stefania Pratico was one of the first people I met in class. Stefania was born in Reggio and her grandfather was from a Greko town. Stefania wanted to regain and connect with her Greko heritage, the traditions and language.
Maria Luisa Nucera is typical of the future of Greko speakers. She is originally from Condofuri Marina, talented and smart, she is a young person who speaks the language. She is also part of the organising committee for To Ddomadi Greko. I also met some of her family and the way she talks about her grandmother, you can see the type of genuine and dedicated young Greko speaker she is. The future is bright with people such as Maria Luisa, and a number of others including Selene Gatto, Costanza Forciniti, who are tireless contributors to making the program a success.
As Freedom explained to me, most of the kids he taught this year live in Calabria. They meet, hang out and even have a WhatsApp group. With such dedicated teachers and students, Greko will be spoken all year long by the students.
If you are abroad and want to help this ancient language, reach out to the people I’ve mentioned. We can and must help. More importantly, I want you to attend this special “Socrates” style learning opportunity, usually held in August. You can follow updates on social media via To Ddomadi Greko
I was once told, “if it speaks, it lives.” This is certainly the case across the toe and heel of Calabria.
Greko lives. I’m proud of all of the Greko.
You can follow To Ddomadi Greko in social media and watch the Greko clip below.
*Billy Cotsis, author of Aegean Seven Take Back The Marbles and director of the film Magna Graecia: Greko of Calabria which will feature at the Greek Film Festival in October.
