A small village on the French island of Corsica just marked 350 years since the first Greeks arrived on its shores, and ...

A small village on the French island of Corsica just marked 350 years since the first Greeks arrived on its shores, and the descendants are still here, still Greek. Cargèse, a hillside community in western Corsica, held its main commemorations on October 10 and 11, honoring the Maniots who left Vitylo in the southern Peloponnese in 1676. Greek MP Filippos Fortomas, who chairs the Hellenic Parliament's Special Permanent Committee on Hellenism of the Diaspora, traveled to Cargèse for the anniversary events. The double milestone also marked 250 years since the community formally established itself in the village in 1776. The commemorations opened with participants throwing flowers into the sea in memory of those who died making the crossing from Mani. On the Sunday, for the first time in the village's history, Metropolitan Dimitrios of France and Greek Ambassador to France Ioannis-Miltiadis Nikolaidis attended a liturgy at the local Greek church. A procession followed, where young men fired rifle shots, a tradition the Maniots of Corsica have kept alive for generations. The story behind the community is layered. After leaving Mani, Genoa initially settled the Maniots at Paomia, but conflict forced them out in 1731. They spent years in Ajaccio before finally making Cargèse their permanent home 45 years after first arriving in Corsica. A DNA study published earlier in 2026 traced Maniot ancestry directly to Bronze Age Greeks. Fortomas said it carries particular importance for Hellenism that three and a half centuries after their ancestors arrived, the descendants of those original Maniots still keep the memory of their Greek origin alive. Local associations led by Alexia Tzanetaki and Jean-Noël Dapelo-Manchia, along with a large delegation from the Pan-Maniot Union "I Mani" under president Dimitra Kouvari, were central to organizing the events. A concert in Cargèse on October 23 closes the anniversary program. The next major jubilee is set for 2076. #Greece #GreekDiaspora #Mani