In Gallicianò, you’re more likely to hear the word *kalimera* than *buongiorno.*

Beware Calabrians Speaking Greek

Nestled among the mountains at the tip of Italy’s boot is a constellation of villages that still speak a Greek dialect dating back more than 3,000 years

By Elena Clavarino

In Calabria, on the “toe” of Italy’s boot, lie four mountain ranges: the Aspromonte, Sila, Pollino, and Serra. From afar, Gallicianò, a remote town at the base of the Aspromonte, looks like a Nativity scene. At the entrance to the town, a Byzantine-style shrine greets visitors, its mosaic depicting a gold-haloed Christ holding a cross in one hand and extending the other.

Gallicianò has a population of about 60 people and no phone signal. The Italian papers have long called it a “ghost town.” In the square, 20 locals mill about, waiting for a bread truck. When it pulls up, the driver calls out, “Kalimera”—Greek for “Good morning.”