Melpignano

Melpignano (Griko: λιπινιάνα/Lipignana; Salentino: Merpignanu) is a small town and comune in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy.

Melpignano has a population of 2,209 inhabitants (called Melpignanesi) and an area of 10.93 square kilometres (4.22 sq mi), thus showing a population density of 202,1 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The comune rises 89 metres (292 ft) above sea level.

The people of Melpignano, alongside Italian, also speak Griko, a Greek dialect.

The language, folklore, traditions and history of Calimera, like those of the eight other cities in the area called "Salentine Greece", reveal significant Greek influences over the course of time, presumably from the time of the Byzantine control, or even the ancient Magna Graecia colonisation in the 8th century BCE.