Intemelio is a Ligurian dialect spoken historically from the

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria ...

to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

province of

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Muss ...

History

Since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

the

Ligurian language Ligurian () or Genoese () (locally called or ) is a Gallo-Italic language spoken primarily in the territories of the former Republic of Genoa, now comprising the area of Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of Fran ...

was spoken in all the territories of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

; in the western area of the Republic one of its groups (spoken mainly on the coast between Monaco and

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

) was called ''Intemelio'' and was centered on

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

. In the actual Italian area of Ventimiglia there is the most renowned ''Intemelio'': the "Ventimigliese", that stretches from the coast until

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. The

Royasc Royasc is a dialect bridging the gap between the Ligurian language and the Occitan language. It is spoken in Italy and France. Area of use The Royasc dialect is spoken in the Upper Roya valley, at the boundary of France and Italy. In France, i ...

dialect is connected to the "Ventimigliese", as a mountainous version of the ''intemelio'' that has some

occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

influences. In

the local intemelio dialect is heavily influenced by the

Genoese dialect Genoese, locally called or , is the main Ligurian dialect, spoken in and around the Italian city of Genoa, the capital of Liguria, in Northern Italy. A majority of remaining speakers of Genoese are elderly. Several associations are dedicated ...

Current use

Intemelio is used by nearly 10,000 people in the area of

of the

province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

, but other 40,000 are able to understand it and speak a few sentences of this dialect in western

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. A few thousand speak fluently the local variants of Intemelio in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

: Monegasque,

Mentonasc Mentonasc (; Mentonasco in Italian, Mentonnais or Mentonasque in French) is a Romance dialect historically spoken in and around Menton, France. It is classified as a dialect of Occitan and a sub-dialect of Vivaro-Alpine, with some strong influen ...

and

Brigasc Brigasc is a dialect of the Ligurian language. It is spoken in Italy and France. Area of use The Brigasc dialect is spoken in La Brigue (France) and Briga Alta (Italy) and some villages of the communes of Ormea and Triora. It is very close to R ...

Anecdote

The Ligurian area of

Seborga Seborga ( lij, A Seborca) is a small village and self-proclaimed principality in the region of Liguria near the French border. Administratively, it is a ''comune'' of the Italian province of Imperia. The main economic activities are horticulture ...

speaks the "ventimigliese" dialect ''Intemelio'' and the so-called

Principality of Seborga The Principality of Seborga ( it, Principato di Seborga) is an unrecognised micronation that claims a area located in the northwestern Italy, Italian Province of Imperia in Liguria, near the France, French border, and about from Monaco. The pr ...

considered the possibility of using this dialect as the official language.

References

Bibliography

* Azaretti, Emilio. ''L'evoluzione dei dialetti liguri''. Sanremo: Edizioni Casabianca, 1982. Pp. xxii + 416. * Dalbera, Jean-Philippe. ''Les Ilots Liguriens de France, dans Les Langues de France sous la direction de B. Cerquiglini''. (Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France). Presses Universitaires de France. Paris, 2003. pp. 125–136 * Devoto, Giovanni. ''I Dialetti delle Regioni d'Italia''. Sansoni Editore. Florence, 1971 * Toso, Fiorenzo. ''Liguria linguistica. Dialettologia, storia della lingua e letteratura nel Ponente''. Philobiblon. Ventimiglia, 2006 * Werner Forner. ''À propos du ligurien intémélien - La côte, l’arrière-pays''. . Travaux du Cercle linguistique de

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, 7–8, 1986, pp. 29–62. * Magazine ''Intemelion''. Edited in

by Brigati Glauco, from Review ''La voce intemelia''.

External links