Gallicianò – A sleepy village where time seems to have stopped

The sleepy village of Gallicianò, nestled at the foot of the Aspromonte mountains, preserves an important part of Greco-Calabrian history — one we’re fortunate to experience through an unexpected private tour.

Piazza Alimos, the main square of Galliciano

Our journey through Greek Calabria leads us to Gallicianò, a sleepy viallage where — without expecting it — we end up spending the next four hours. Like Pentedattilo, Gallicianò is a small, quite village that still counts about thirty inhabitants. Here too, the main residents seem to be the many cats. The village is about an hour’s drive from the sea, and at first glance, one might feel a bit isolated (even mobile phone reception is long gone).

In my guidebook, I read that there’s a small local museum here that tells the story of the village. But we only get to that much later, because first we meet Mimmo, who takes us on a tour through the village and explains everything about the Greek dialect and the Orthodox faith still practiced here. We speak a bit of Greek together. Grecanico, as the Calabrian-Greek dialect is called, sounds a bit to me like the dialect spoken in Crete or Cyprus. Many words in Grecanico are so archaic that I can’t connect them to modern Greek — but more on that later

First, we have an espresso at the small café, which only opens on Sundays. Petro opens it just for us — apparently, word spread within minutes that two strangers had arrived. “Kalispera,” Petro and Mimmo greet each other. We chat for a while, a bit in Greek, a bit in Italian, and then begin our tour at the San Giovanni Battista church, which was once an Orthodox church. Like many Orthodox churches, this one eventually gave in to pressure from the Catholic Church and abandoned the Orthodox rite. It’s mid-January, and in front of the church, we still see the ashes of a large fire — likely part of a Greek tradition I’m not familiar with.

Mimmo tells us that on Christmas Eve, a large fire is lit here to honor the dead. In the dialect, it’s called "Aghio Luce." Aghio = Greek for holy, luce = Italian for light. The Holy Light, then. I find this word fusion of Greek and Italian very beautiful. I think it also symbolizes the coexistence of the Greek dialect with the Italian language. However, Mimmo tells us that foreign dialects were not always welcome here.

According to Mimmo, fifty years ago, anyone who spoke dialect was considered “dumb” and “backward.” This led to the gradual decline of the dialect, as many families wanted to adapt in order to escape this stigma. We wonder why that is. The Greek dialect has existed in Calabria — depending on which theory you follow — since antiquity, and suddenly it was frowned upon to speak it? We can only explain it through growing globalization, which leaves little room for local identity.

We continue walking through the village and hardly see anyone. In the distance, we hear a television playing from an apartment. We arrive at the next church, passing the Pigadi tis Agapis — the “Well of Love” — ohhhhhh! This used to be the place where the village’s girls and women came to wash clothes. So, back then, it was the perfect place for boys to meet girls — and maybe their future wife. Kind of a shame that it’s no longer like that today.😉

From left to right: the Church of San Giovanni Battista, the view of Gallicianò, and a commemorative plaque honoring the ancient connection between Calabria and Greece.

Higher up on the mountain is the village’s Orthodox church — Santa Maria dalla Grecia. It’s more of a small chapel than a church.

On the way back down to the main square, we meet a few locals who kindly offer us freshly laid eggs. We happily accept and even consider staying the night here. Giovanni Maesano, who walked part of the way with us along with Mimmo, shows us the small guesthouse he runs (link below). But we decide to head back that evening. The museum — the reason we came here in the first place — we only visit briefly. Mimmo has already told us most of what we would’ve learned there during his spontaneous four-hour private tour. We say goodbye and leave a small donation for the museum. Efcharistó, Mimmo — we’ll definitely be back!

On the way back down to the main square, we meet a few locals who kindly offer us freshly laid eggs. We happily accept and even consider staying the night here. Giovanni Maesano, who walked part of the way with us along with Mimmo, shows us the small guesthouse he runs (link below). But we decide to head back that evening. The museum — the reason we came here in the first place — we only visit briefly. Mimmo has already told us most of what we would’ve learned there during his spontaneous four-hour private tour. We say goodbye and leave a small donation for the museum. Efcharistó, Mimmo — we’ll definitely be back!

The experience in Gallicianò was truly enriching for both of us. We felt as though we had been transported back in time, and that evening we needed to process everything we had seen and heard. It’s hard to imagine that in the middle of the Calabrian mountains, people still speak Greek, that the locals were once all Orthodox, and that this part of Calabrian culture will disappear if it’s not preserved.

Here you’ll find the contact information for the local museum in Gallicianò (opening hours may vary, as you might imagine): https://www.museionline.info/musei/museo-etnografico-merianou

Giovanni’s accommodation can be booked here : https://www.airbnb.it/rooms/36504437?check_in=2025-08-12&check_out=2025-08-17&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=2906db6b-dde9-4905-aec0-3270743ffaa2