Francesco Giannachi

Forging human relationships to rediscover ancient words

Vito Domenico Palumbo's manuscripts (late 19th century) preserving the very first transcriptions of Greek-Salentine texts.

The path of research is often windy. Ten years ago, on a rainy day, I jumped on a car and set out to carry out a field survey in some municipalities of the Greek minority of Salento (Grecìa Salentina, Southern Apulia). I wanted to see if the surviving literature preserved orally bore any trace of… Continue reading Forging human relationships to rediscover ancient words

“Greek, the language they gave me”… and I am not going to lose it

Nobody is foreigner here in Calimera. So says the engraving of the fourth-century marble stele donated by the city of Athens to Calimera (Lecce). From 1960 it has been housed in municipal park of Calimera, in a shrine that over time has become a symbol of hospitality and fraternity.

“I see here an excellent track record in Classical and Byzantine philology. And some research on modern Greek linguistics. Listen to me, keep up the good work on the former and ditch the latter: studying the margins will not do much to your career”. I was a young scholar trying to carve a space for… Continue reading “Greek, the language they gave me”… and I am not going to lose it