Zollino

Zollino - Τζολίνο
Country	Italy
region	Apulia
province	Lecce  (LE)
Coordinates	40 ° 12 '  N , 18 ° 15'  E Coordinates: 40 ° 12 '27 "  N , 18 ° 14' 58"  E
height	90  m slm
surface	9 km²
Residents	1,904 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	212 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	73010
prefix	0836
ISTAT number	075094
Popular name	Zollinesi
Patron saint	Anthony of Padua
Website	Zollino

Zollino (in Griko Τσουḍḍίνου, transcribed Tsuḍḍínu ) is an Italian municipality in Grecìa Salentina , the Greek-speaking area on the Salento peninsula with 1904 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019).

geography

Zollino is about 18 kilometers south of the provincial capital, Lecce, in the center of the nine municipalities that make up the Grecìa Salentina.

Surname

There are different views on the origin of the place name. It is most likely that the name derives from Soletino (" Little Soleto ") and assumed its current shape via Solino and Sollino . According to this theory, which is supported by the same coat of arms of the two communities, Zollino was founded by the inhabitants of Soleto and dependent on them.

According to a second theory, the toponym comes from a Byzantine family name tsouli (Greek tsoli or tsouli τσούλι "rascal"), which was the name of the landowner in the area. Forms like Zolis , Zulis , Tsulis , Zulinos are common family names in the area. Further theories assume Germanic, Norman or Longobard origins of the name.

history

The Zollino menhirs are evidence of prehistoric settlement in the municipality. The origins of today's place are in the dark. According to the sun in the coat of arms, there are hypotheses about the establishment by settlers of the Apigliano feudal estate (which, according to legend, had to be given up due to infestation by countless snakes) or the city of Soleto . In ancient times, the Zollino area was of some strategic importance as it was on the trade route from the Adriatic to the Ionian coast. In the Middle Ages the place was under Byzantine influence for a long time , only in 1688 the Orthodox rite was given up in favor of the Catholic in the community.

In the Middle Ages, Zollino belonged to the county of Lecce, which was ruled by the Altavilla family . In 1190 Lecce enfeoffed Baron Belingherio Chiaromonte with the estate through Tankred , and in 1384 Maria d'Enghien became the owner, who brought the estate into the marriage with Raimondo Orsini del Balzo , Count of Soleto. When the Count of Orsini became ruler of Taranto , the place came to the Principality of Taranto and was given to the Chiaramonte as a fief. In the following years the place was owned by different families (including Gentile, Alifi, Sarlo, D'Aiello, Saraceno, Simonetta, Gomez Omen, Ghezzi, Villapiana, Granafei, Gaetani, Castromediano, Prato, Frisi, De Leon, De Pietravalida), until 1806 the feudal system in southern Italy was abolished.

population

The Catasto onciario of 1746 lists 290 inhabitants of Zollino in 66 units, only 34 of the inhabitants were over 50 years old. Except for a few clergy, the entire population lived from agriculture. In 1800 the population had risen to 560 and rose continuously to 2,341 (1961) into the 1960s, when emigration to Germany and Switzerland reduced the number by a few hundred. In the 1980s, some of the guest workers returned to their hometown. In 2001 the community had 2,941 residents, a decrease of 4% compared to 1991. 348 (15.86%) of the population had a job, the average of the inhabitants per family was 2.94%.

Among the 172 family names, the most common Italian ones are, in order of frequency, Castellano, Tondi, Pellegrino, Gemma, Verri, Bianco, Chiga, Costa, Calò and Maniglio. There are no recent studies on the spread of Griko in the community. In any case, the number of speakers is falling and is likely to be less than a third of the population.

Town twinning

• Sofiko , now part of the municipality of Solygia , Greece
• Terpistea - Greece (interrupted)

Attractions

In addition to the Palazzo Raho , the Pozzelle , old fountains on the edge of the village and the excavation site of the old Apigliano feudal estate, the local churches are especially worth seeing.

Parish Church of Santi Pietro e Paolo Apostoli

The church dates from Byzantine times, although the exact date of its construction is unknown. It was first described at the beginning of the 16th century. At that time it was a simple hall church with three altars, sacristy and campanile, which was consecrated to Saint Peter and surrounded by a churchyard. In 1608, after a visit by the archbishop, an extensive renovation began. A new sacristy was built and the floor plan was extended to a Latin cross. The richly decorated south facade, which received another portal, also dates from this period. The current shape of the entrance facade dates from 1863, in 1893 a clock tower and a new campanile with an octagonal tip were added.

Sant'Anna

The baroque church from 1677 was built on the site of an older church, which was demolished in the 16th century because of its dilapidation and in the ruins of which an image of St. Anne was found, to whom numerous miracles were attributed. It contains a finely crafted baroque altar with an altarpiece of Saints Anna and Joachim with Maria as a young girl.

Madonna di Loreto

Altar of the Madonna di Loreto church

The small church was built between 1774 and 1781 outside Zollino, on the altar under the statue of the Mother of God the year 1665 can be found, from which one concludes that this older St. Mary's Church, which was demolished at the beginning of the 17th century, was brought here. A fresco with Mary and the blessing Jesus takes into account the Byzantine pictorial tradition.

Votive column of Saint Peter

The column was erected at the turn of the 18th century on the site of a so-called Osanna, a stone column crowned with a cross, as is typical for Salento. This was at the site of the ruins of a Sophienkirche. The figure of St. Peter rises on a cubic pedestal above a Corinthian column and is adorned with a garland of flowers on the feast day of the saint, June 29th. On the place of the column, graves were discovered during excavations that may be assigned to the old Sophienkirche.

Underground oil mill

The small oil mill was built at the end of the 17th century and was in operation until 1940. It was recently restored by the community and shows the workings of oil production.

See also

• Zollino menhirs

Regular events

Festa de lu focu

The feasts of the community primarily include the feast days of the saints of the various churches, the most important of which is the city party on August 22nd and 23rd.

The Festa de lu focu ("Festival of Fire") is celebrated on December 28th . This is a typical winter festival of lights in which a kind of artificial sun is created by lighting a large fire. In the 1970s, the festival was postponed from January 17th to December so that the guest workers returning home for Christmas could celebrate. Together with the Fiesta de lu Mieru in Carpignano Salentino , it is one of the outstanding folk festivals in Salento.

The Sagra della Sceblasti , which has been celebrated on August 2nd and 3rd since 1996, is a folk festival around a spicy bread specialty of the place whose name is derived from the Griko and means "without form".

economy

The community is still agricultural today. The products include a variety of peas (Pisello Nano di Zollino) and a variety of beans (Fava di Zollino, cuccìa) , which are officially recognized as typical products of the region.

traffic

Road traffic in Salento is limited to simple country roads, on which intercity buses are an important means of public transport. Buses also connect the place with Brindisi Airport .

In addition, the place is connected to the railway network with its own train station . Two routes serve the station:

• the Lecce – Gallipoli line and
• the Zollino – Gagliano Leuca railway line .

literature

• Andrea Cappello: Zollino. Arte, società e cultura in un percorso storiografico. Edizioni Del Grifo, Lecce 1999, ISBN 88-7261-153-9
• Antonio Apostolo: Zollino 1914/1918. Fatti e figure nella grande guerra. Piero Manni, Lecce 1996

Web links

• Zollinonelmondo.org (Italian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ↑ Paolo Stomeo: Cognomi greci Salento. Editrice salentina, Galatina 1984
3. ↑ Minority languages ​​of Italy ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the University of Udine 
4. ↑ Portrait of the festival ( memento of September 7, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) on the website of the Pro Loco Zollino association (Italian)
5. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from May 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.