Pentidattilo

Pentidattilo (Πενταδάττυλο, Pentadáttylo in the Calabrian Greek dialect) is a frazione of the comune of Melito Porto Salvo, in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria. Until 1811 it was an independent comune.

Since the early 2000s, and without good reason, it has increasingly been called Pentedattilo, even though modern-era documents much more often record it as Pentidattilo (the vowels a, e and i often alternate in historical sources because of the Reggio dialect pronunciation); in contemporary documents and on road signs too, the spelling has always been Pentidattilo. The Pente- variant seems to copy the spelling of the word five in modern Greek.

At 250 metres above sea level, Pentidattilo clings to the rock of Monte Calvario, whose shape looks like a giant hand with five fingers, which gives the village its Greek name πέντα-δάκτυλος (pènta-dàktylos), "five fingers".

The old village, at 320 metres, was finally abandoned in 1971, three years after being declared uninhabitable: the population had moved slightly down the valley, forming a new small village from which the old ghost village can be admired.

Only recently have some craftsmen reopened a few workshops, joined even by a small restaurant.

The village has seen some regeneration work, such as the restoration of some buildings and the repaving of the main lane.

Every summer Pentidattilo is a stop of the travelling Paleariza festival, an event of Grecanic culture with an international audience.

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · translated from Italian