Griko people

Common card · No. 207740

The Griko people (Greek: Γκρίκο), also known as Grecanici in Calabria, are an ethnic Greek community of Southern Italy. They are found principally in Calabria and Apulia (peninsula of Salento). The Griko are believed to be remnants of the once extensive ancient and Medieval Greek communities of Southern Italy (the ancient Magna Graecia region), although there is debate among scholars as to whether the Griko community is directly descended from ancient colonists, from medieval migrations during the Byzantine period, or a combination of both. A long-standing debate over the origin of the Griko dialect has produced two main theories. According to the first theory, formulated by Giuseppe Morosi in 1870, Griko originated from the Hellenistic Koine when Byzantine-era waves of immigrants arrived from Greece to the Salento. In contrast, Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis in 1892 and German philologist Gerhard Rohlfs argued that Griko represents an indigenous dialect evolved directly from Ancient...

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