Tucked deep within the mountainous landscape near the Adriatic Coast in southern Italy, a language and a culture dating back 500 years are at risk of disappearing. Roughly 1,000 people in the towns of Montemitro, San Felice, and Acquaviva Collecroce speak Slavomolisano – or na-našo (pronounced “na-nasho”) as it is known in the language – a blend of ancient Croatian and the local Italian dialect of the Molise region.
Created from the blend of Italian culture and the language spoken by 15th-century Croatian refugees, na-našo, meaning “our way,” and its associated traditions have been passed down for generations. But as the towns’ populations have dwindled over the years and Italian has overtaken na-našo as their primary language, that heritage has looked near its end.
