Africo (Calabrian: ; ) is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria located from Reggio Calabria. Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio (Old Africo), is located some in the mainland at the feet of the Aspromonte. The old town was destroyed by disastrous floods and landslides in October 1951 and abandoned. The second, Africo Nuovo (New Africo), was reconstructed around away, on the Ionian coast near Bianco. The remnants of the old town are situated in the Aspromonte National Park. History The origin of the name is unclear. According to some scholars, the name may have derived from the Latin name (airy and sunny) which is from the Greek . Others believe it comes from the Latin africus (ventus), winds from Africa. Άφρικο (Aphriko) in Greek means deriving from Africa, possibly meaning the South-Westernly wind coming to the region from the Libyan Desert. The village of Africo was inhabitted by Griko people, known as Grecanici in Calabria. The Grecanici are a Greek ethnic and linguistic minority in the Calabria region of Italy, remnants of a population that has resided there since late antiquity. The Grecanic language was lost in Africo during the late 19th century and was replaced by Calabrian. In 1571 Gabriele Barrio writes that in Africo the Sacred Rites were celebrated in Greek and that the population also used Greek in family relationships, together with Italo-Romance languages. At the end of the 18th century the Greek Byzantine Rite was still observed there. In the 19th century the inhabitants of Africo abandoned the Greek Rite as well as the Greek language. The dialect of Africo is of the neo-Latin type, but with several words of Greek origin: for example the name of the stream Aposcipo derives from the Greek Απόσχεπος (Apòskepos = "not protected"). However, Africo is not currently part of the Grecanic speaking area. Its inhabitants are called Africesi or Africoti. Africo Vecchio The old centre was founded around the 9th century by inhabitants from Delia or Deri. In 1195 the town became a fief of the Archbishop of Reggio Calabria granted by the king of Sicily, Henry VI. It remained so until the end of feudalism in Calabria in 1806. An earthquake in 1783, partially destroyed the town, killing six people. Earthquakes in 1905 and 1908 again hit the town. Africo has become the symbol