The village of Montresta in the province of Oristano, about 87 miles (140 km) northwest of Cagliari on Sardinia, was founded by Greeks from the Mani peninsula on the Peloponnese in 1750.
As Ioannis Korinthios, a lecturer in Modern Greek Studies at the University of Calabria and a prominent member of the Greek diaspora, explained, Montresta “owes its roots and historical identity to the exodus and dispersal of the people of Mani, which started in 1676.”
Maniots had a reputation as fierce, proudly independent warriors who partook in piracy and blood feuds. For the most part, the Maniots lived in fortified villages (and “house-towers”) where they defended their lands against the armies of William II Villehardouin and the Ottoman Empire.
Korinthios told Greek Reporter that, defeated by the Ottoman Turks in 1669, 730 Maniates, in consultation with the Genoese, left Mani and found refuge and protection in Genoa. They were led by the Stephanopoulos family and the bishop of Itilo, Parthenios Kalkandis.
Many, including monks and nuns, then dispersed to Corsica. The Greeks were given a dry and arid location on the island, which looked amazingly like Mani. The migrants named this Paomia. It was located 2.5 miles (4 km) east of today’s village of Cargèse.
Greeks of Mani move to Sardinia
However, as Korinthios explained, things turned challenging for the Greeks on Corsica. When the people of Corsica revolted against the rule of Genoa in 1731, the Greeks adopted a neutral stance out of gratitude to the Genoese who had helped them. This led to retaliation by the rebels.
Korinthios, whose passion for the Greek language was instrumental in convincing Athens to launch International Greek Language Day in 2017, said that “for fifty years, they suffered uprooting and relocation until they were allowed to settle in their new village of Cargeze.”
Korinithios added: “But, several families opted to move to Sardinia and establish themselves in the village of Montresta, which they themselves founded around 1750.” Today, the Maniots have left, but various elements of architecture and crafts, including basket making, are reminiscent of Greek art.
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