original church at Boitylos. The people cultivate the land. They produce wine and cereals, and are well-off and prosperous.
But here is a wonderful story. In 1872 Mr. H. F. Tozer was at Cargese. He made some studies of their Greek dialect and noted some of their popular songs. Then, in 1882, he was in the Peloponnesus and went to Boitylos. He found that the people there perfectly remembered the fact that once, long ago, some of their forbears had sailed away to the West. He recited one of these songs from Cargese[1] to them, and they said: "That is just what our boys still sing in the streets." He found, too, that both had the same peculiarities of dialect.[2]
The other Italo-Greek community in the north is that of Leghorn. This, too, has a curious history. It began at the end of the sixteenth century. Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1537-1574), seeing the advantages of having the industrious, law-abiding Greek refugees in his state, invited a number of them to come and settle at Leghorn. This was in 1572. They came, not directly from the Levant, but from other Italian cities where they had already settled. The first group was from Ancona. Cosimo granted them extensive privileges, and obtained from the Pope (Pius V, 1566-1572) leave to hand over the old Augustinian church of St James "in Acquaviva." The Greeks rendered good service to the Tuscan state. As successful merchants they increased the general prosperity; as skilful sailors they manned the Tuscan galleys. They were always loyal to the Government; some of them occupied important posts in the army. Soon they had a special quarter of the town, the "Borgo dei Greci," around their church. Then they became too many for the church of St James; so they built the one they still use, S Maria dell' Annunziata. This was finished in 1605 and consecrated by
- ↑
"Κρέμασε ταὶς πλεξίδες σου ὄξου στὸ παναθύρι
νὰ κάμω σκάλα ν'ἀνεβῶ νὰ σὲ φιλῶ στὰ χείλη."("Hang down your braids outside the window, for a ladder for me to climb, that I may kiss your lips.")
- ↑ E.g., Κ=tch. Ἐκεῖ, pron. Etche, etc. H. F. Tozer, "Vitylo and Cargese," in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, iii (1882), pp. 354-360. For the story of the colony at Cargese see P. Stéphanopoli, "Histoire des Grecs en Corse," Paris, 1900; E. A. Vlasto, "Relation d'un Voyage en Corse," in the "Annuaire pour l'encouragement des études grecques en France," xxi, Paris, 1887, pp. 207-226; Th. Xanthopoulos, "La Colonie grecque-cath. de Cargèse," Échos d'Orient, v, 1901, pp. 33-39; Ν. Β. Ρhardys, Υλη καὶ σκαρίφημα ἱστορίας τῆς ἐν Κορσικῇ ἑλλνικῆς ἀποικίας, Athens, 1888.
