Grecia Salentina: Challenges and Conservation of Heritage

Challenges and conservation of Intangible
Heritage in minor historic centres:

GRECÌA SALENTINA
Apulia Region - ITALY.

Gianni Manco. gianni.manco@u-space.it

Challenges and conservation of Intangible Heritage in minor historic centres GRECÌA SALENTINA Apulia Region - ITALY.

I'm an architect but I will not speak about architectural projects,
I’m also a planner but do not present any Master Plan,

I would rather tell you about the

Grecìa Salentina
A case study where a territory has radically changed
its economy, improving it greatly.
In my view it has put in place a genuine appreciation
of the "intangible heritage“, without affecting its identity.


WHAT IS THE GRECÌA SALENTINA
It is a Greek- speaking
island located in the
southern Apulia region, the
Salento,
in the province of
Lecce, and consisting of
nine municipalities where a
dialect known as neo-greek
grecanico or Grìko


THE GRECÌA SALENTINA

It is located in Italy, in the
southern Puglia region
inside of SALENTO


Since 1990, the term Grecìa Salentina has become the
expression of UNION of municipalities formed pursuant to Article .32 of
Legislative Decree no. Aug. 18, 2000, 267, also sponsored by the
European Union and including the nine Hellenic-speaking municipalities:
Calimera, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d’Otranto,
Martano, Martignano, Melpignano, Soleto, Sternatia, Zollino

In 2007, two other non Hellenic- speaking municipalities were added to
the nine original members of the UNION:
Carpignano Salentino , Cutrofiano.


Currently, the reference
population is 54.278
inhabitants Union, which is
one of the largest for this
type of entity.

The Italian Parliament has
recognized the Greek
community in Salento as a
distinct ethnic group and a
linguistic minority as
"linguistic minority grìca the
Etnies Grìco-salentina."


What is the UNION
• It is a new local authority with statutory autonomy within the
principles laid down by the Constitution, Rules European
Community, State and Regional

• Its task is to promote the integration of administrative power
between municipalities and coordinate their policies and
program development in the area, improving the quality of
services provided to citizens, and at the same time developing
economies of scale.


The history, the culture, the Popular Traditions
of the Grecìa Salentina

“immaterial driving force”
for
economic revival of a territory
otherwise voted to emigration


In the second half of the last century, in the absence
of an extensive industrial and service sectors the only
economic resources derived from agriculture and
pastoralist.

But the agriculture, because the lack of water for the
irrigation (Apulia is a region with almost no rivers)
allowed only the minimum subsistence.

For these reasons, the post-war period until the early
70’s of the last century, the Grecìa Salentina, among
the Italian regions, was that a higher rate of
emigration to the Foreign, especially Switzerland and
Germany


Today the Grecìa Salentina, is a pole of attraction for the
tourist and cultural presence of various traditions and
customs related to three elements of identity:

• language,
• The territory and the architecture
• The popular traditions


GRÌKO LANGUAGE

• Today, the majority of studies, they believe, in all probability, that
the language is still spoken in the centers of Grecìa Salentina, dates
back to the IX-X century A.D. when the Byzantines managed to
reconquer large areas of southern Italy, removing the Lombards
and Arabs.

• After the unification of Italy (1860-61), the rigid bureaucracy Savoy
created a rift within the southern linguistic heritage. Grìko, once
used equally by all, was now becoming a "shame," the language of
the "common people ignorant of the peasants”


GRÌKO LANGUAGE

• For several years the Greek language was rediscovered and in
many countries of Grecìa Salentina, there is a plethora of
initiatives aimed at safeguarding its cultural and linguistic
heritage

• This is made through the efforts of individual citizens, municipal
government, and also thanks to the interest of the Greek
Government that sends teachers of mother tongue in schools of
Greece, to teach courses comparative Grìko and Modern Greek


Grecìa Salentina :
The landscape and the architecture

The area of Grecìa Salentina is rich in documenting the history of
its people.

Remained etched in the territory, the signs of aging and
history, allow us to gather the various elements that characterize its
historical and cultural individuality.


Dolmen, Menhir, Specchie
The Dolmen from Breton Tal (table) and Men (stone) is
constituted by a horizontal slab of stone (plaka in grìko) which
rests on “pietrafitte”, usually three, driven into the ground. Of
archaic origin, is the first example of a tomb built by man on the
Salento area.

The Menhir from Breton Men (stone) and Hir (long) “pietrafitta”
is a rectangular section of rough stone, driven into the soil.
Costituited from a single block of stone, is up to five meters
high, is attributed to the Iron Age. Often located at the
crossroads of ancient roads has the face wider faces the
sun, which suggests a religious monument.

The “Specchia” from the Latin Specula (Segla in
grìko), probably Messapic origin, is an artificial mound made of
stones of different forms, is about ten meters high “Specchie”
had a double function, were places of worship, tombs of
warriors but also points of view because they are situated on
higher ground than the surrounding area.


Messapi and Romans
Created the first villages.

The territory is inhabited by Messapi, people
come from the Balkans in the seventh century
BC, the first documented population of the
Salento.

They were succeeded by the Romans and the
marks left by Rome in Grecìa notice the
toponomastica, the centurions and milestones.


Rock dwellings
The collapse of Rome leads to the abandonment of
the city. We return to the restricted forms of
aggregation.

Creation of the civilization of caves and cave
settlements characterize large areas of the
Puglia, especially near the gravine.

Salento in the rock dwellings are not located in large
urban settlements but they are isolated and are
almost always underground. They go early Christian
symbols, crosses, Greek and Latin, Saracen ships.


Byzantine arts:
The Crypts
In the Crypts develops the art of painting, mainly due
to Basilian monks fled to the Salento following the
iconoclastic struggle.

Byzantine art is not only expressed in the settlements
but are frescoed tombs and crypts are built churches
dedicated to saints of Eastern origin.


Dry construction Pozzelle - Neviere
The Byzantines organize this territory as a province of the
empire.

The agricultural landscape is transformed: dry stone walls
bordering the property, dry construction (furnieddhi)
pyramid-shaped and truncated cones that make up the
house of farmers, are spreading in the country of Greece
Salentina. Often around buildings creates an enclosure for
animals.

Natural depressions in the ground, a series of tanks, the
Pozzelle, collect and store rainwater filtered and enriched
with salts through the soil drainage.
The Pozzelle solve the problem in an ingenious water supply.

The Neviere construction “ipogee”, allow you to keep for the
summer, the snow that fell during the winter.


Frantoi Ipogei
(underground oil production tools)

The Frantoi ipogei were used in the Grecìa Salentina
from ‘400 to ‘900.

Sculpted in the tender calcareous rocs, the crushers
preserve the oil to constant temperature.

Inside the Crushers in the past living the
“frantoiani”, consorting with the work animals
necessary to roll the “machine”.


Closed farms- Castle
Rural factory “Masserie”
fortressed
After the assault of Otranto city in 1480 the closed
farms are reinforced, sourrounded by
walls, and, in order to face the new fire
artillery, the defensive systems are modified.

Starting 1550 in the rural areas were built
defensive farms, with span, “caditoie”, removable
stairs, underground escape ways. They were
meant to resist attacks of pirates coming from the
low Adriatic Sea.


Convent
Urban church
Extra-urban church
After the Trento Council, the Roma Papal
strengthened their presence on the territory
by build a network of convents,

The urban curch almost all to byzantine
origin, have been rebuilt in the The urban
church, almost all of byzantine and medieval
origin are rebuild particularly for intervention
of baroque style.

Extra-urban church represent the meeting and
socialization points of small rural
communities, for example “masserie”.


Traditional court – houses
• The typical greek-of Salento is never in contact with the road: a
portal is separated from this by entering into a yard (square or
rectangular) which, together with the houses the house to court
house (reminiscent of the "Megaron" of ancient
Greece), including a well in joint, the back
garden, stables, sheepfolds, chicken coops.

• The house, almost always on the ground floor, was built with
the use of local stone (called “pietra leccese”), and the walls
were whitewashed and the floor was made of polished slabs of
stone.

• In the inside courtyard (avlì in Griko), where you play many
domestic work, is also the center of interpersonal relationships.
It represents, for the countries of Grecìa, a big moment of
socialization and exchange.


The Barocco Style
Next to construction of the
peasants, there are also palaces, initially
in the Renaissance style and then later in
the Baroque style.

These buildings are facilitated by the use
of supple local stone, the typical local
stone quarries mined near
Melpignano, Cursi, Zollino cities, which is
suitable to be processed by the expert
hands of master stonecutters.


THE TARANTISMO
AND THE MUSIC IN SALENTO
• The “tarantola or taranta” is a poisonous spider which
bite has originated the term “pizzica” (the translation of
bite in italian).
• The bite of the spider provoke an hepilectic
syndrome, which is similar to the way people dance.
• People dancing “pizzica” is taken by a phycological
frustration, that normally taken emargineted and in that
epoch women, which could also mimate a sexual
amplex during this phenomena which now is a dance.
• To solve this drama people needs an exorcisme made
also with musical instruments such as violin, drums and
so on.


The patient (tarantata) danced for many hours in prey epilepsy caused by
poison, until exhausted, fall heavily to the ground unconscious, thus being
able to rest temporarily. For decades, we are no longer talking about
“tarantate “ and rites of exorcism; regarded as synonymous with
backwardness and shame, have been removed and forgotten.

Today “tarantism” is
essentially gone, there is
only a very rich cultural
heritage made of
songs, legends, music
and words.
Apulian tarantism was born in the Middle Ages and was maintained until the
end of the 700 starting its decline in the next century.
The instrument used to accompany the ritual of the dance is the local
tambourine who is played by giving the basic rhythm. Sheet is formed
around the circle in the middle of which, with a very basic technique you can
dance the dance of the “pizzica”.


The festival The night of Taranta

The Festival is a project moved up to the municipality union of the
Grecìa Salentina, in the 1998 they decide to realise,within the
language greek area, a big concert. The aim of this project s the aim
to link the folkloristic music with the other traditional music and
then to obtain a new form of music composition .

This initiative still develop during the last 14 years and today have
achieved an important roles in national and international ambit


During the august month each year they are a Festival
appointed by several concert in all the Grecìa
Salentina Union and thousandth tourist choiche the
Salent as a destination for there holiday.

The Salento region as become, in the last years, the
tourist destination more attractrive for the italian
paople, tanks to the cultural and touristic opportunity
offered by the Grecìa Salentina

Also this years over than 100.000 spectator have
been attended to the final concert of the Taranta
festival they are each year at the end of august.


The “The night of Taranta” Foundation play in concert over
all the world tiene concerti in tutto il mondo, from Pechino
to Moscow, New York, Los Angeles, Sidney. The Taranta
dance today livened dencing school and are becoming a
mass artistic phenmenon.


The Union of municipality of the Grecìa Salentina
There are disclose as a winner card game of the project wich in less than twenty
years, have been promote, trought the Grìko and the Taranta, the tradition of a
territory very reach in terms of history and tradition, but ignored and in abandoned
state. .

Today the Grecìa Salentina region, have achieved a more important turistic appeal, at
the same time carry on they cultural identity.

Thanks for your attention.

Grecia Salentina: Challenges and Conservation of Heritage

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