The Institute of Mediterranean Cultures was founded in 2000 as an internal institution of the Province of Lecce, with the main objective of opening Salento to dialogue and exchange with other countries of the Mediterranean basin. The Institute operates within the framework of integrated Euro-Mediterranean relations and institutional networks. It participated in the European Project "Pos matome Griko", acting as both initiator and partner alongside other participating institutions.The project focused on Griko, the language spoken in one of the two Greek-speaking areas of Southern Italy, in the wider region of Grecia Salentina in southern Apulia. Through this initiative, the aim was to preserve and protect Griko as a valuable element of the shared Mediterranean Cultural Heritage.