The Camminanti are a nomadic ethnic group living in Southern Italy, almost entirely in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. They are closely associated with the

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

, given their similar circumstances and lifestyles, and although they are not ethnic Romani, they are legally considered to be so by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. The European Union has repeatedly called for the human rights of Camminanti to be respected, as well as Italian Romani.

Distribution

The Camminanti live mainly in Sicily (especially

Val di Noto Val di Noto (English: ''Province of Noto'') is a historical and geographical area encompassing the south-eastern third of Sicily; it is dominated by the limestone Hyblaean plateau. Historically, it was one of the three valli of Sicily. History ...

), however, there are smaller populations in

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, Lombardy, and

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. They are a very small group, numbering about 2000.

History

While it is agreed they came to Sicily during the 14th century, the exact origins of the Camminanti are unclear. One theory asserts that they are the descendants of Slavic and Nordic travellers, but this has been met with little consensus. Similar, but unproven, theories hypothesize that the people originated as the survivors of the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7 ...

or that they were initially slaves but transformed into an ethnic group after slavery was abolished. There is still little evidence in support of these claims.

Culture

The Camminanti have their own language, called Baccagghiu, related to the

Sicilian language Sicilian ( scn, sicilianu, link=no, ; it, siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. A variant, ''Calabro-Sicilian'', is spoken in southern Calabria, where it is called Southern Calabro ...

and influenced by 16th century-era Greek travellers in Palermo. In Italy they are well known for their practice of making

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...

s, which serves as one of their main sources of income. Gradually more and more Camminanti are switching to a more sedentary way of life; however most of them are still nomadic.

References

{{Reflist Ethnic groups in Sicily Ethnic groups in Italy

Distribution

History

Culture

See also

References