Nine villages in southern Italy collectively known as La Grecia Salentina (Salentine Greece) or, in the local dialect, Griko have maintained aspects of the Greek language and culture that have survived for centuries. The Greek communities of Salento and Calabria in southern Italy are, however, fundamentally different. Greeks settled in southern Italy in ancient times, and their communities remained intact and loyal to the Byzantine Emperor until the Arabs evicted imperial rule from Sicily and the Normans from southern Italy. I had become obsessed with the Byzantine remnants in southern Italy. Grecia Salentina, a small oasis of Greek language and cultureThe autostrade runs through the middle of the Italian “Heel,” and only a few signs alert the driver that he is passing through Grecia Salentina, a small oasis of Greek language and culture in the middle of the Salentine Peninsula.