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Calimera

Coordinates: 40°15′N 18°17′E / 40.250°N 18.283°E / 40.250; 18.283
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Calimera
Griko: Kalimèra
Comune di Calimera
Location of Calimera
Map
Calimera is located in Italy
Calimera
Calimera
Location of Calimera in Italy
Calimera is located in Apulia
Calimera
Calimera
Calimera (Apulia)
Coordinates: 40°15′N 18°17′E / 40.250°N 18.283°E / 40.250; 18.283
CountryItaly
Region Apulia
ProvinceProvince of Lecce (LE)
Government
 • MayorGianluca Tommasi from 21-9-2020
Area
 • Total11.14 km2 (4.30 sq mi)
Elevation
56 m (184 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2021)[2]
 • Total6,753
 • Density610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
DemonymCalimeresi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
73021
Dialing code0832
Patron saintSaints Brizio and Maria di Roca
Saint day29 July
WebsiteOfficial website

Calimera (Griko: Καλημέρα lit. "good morning"), is a small town of 6,753 inhabitants (2021) in the Grecìa Salentina area of the Salento peninsula in Italy, located between Gallipoli and Otranto. It belongs to the province of Lecce.

The inhabitants of Calimera, alongside Italian, also speak Griko, a Greek dialect. The language, folklore, traditions and history of Calimera, like those of the eight other cities in the area called "Salentine Greece", reveal significant Greek influences over the course of time, presumably from the time of the Byzantine control, or even the ancient Magna Graecia colonisation in the 8th century BCE.

In the park, there is a small monument containing an ancient Attic burial stone, given by the city of Athens to Calimera in 1960. At the top of this monument is a motto, referring to the burial stone: "Zeni su en ise ettù sti Kalimera" (in Greek script: Τσένη 'σού 'εν είσαι ετού στη Καλημέρα), meaning "You are not a stranger here in Calimera", which underlines the close relationship and common origins of Calimera with the rest of Greek civilisation.

Story of the city's name

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The story of the city's name starts when immigrants from Greece came and installed there. An italian stranger, who was passing from the city, asks from an inhabitant to tell him the name of the city. The greek human didn't understand the language (italian) and so the only thing that he told him was the greek greeting "Calimera" which means "good morning". The italian, supposing that he answered his question, thought that the name of the city was "Calimera" and so the city took this name!

See also

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  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.