The evening, organised in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy, the Italian Studies discipline at the University of Sydney and the Com.It.Es. NSW, placed the vitality of dialects and regional varieties at the centre of the discussion, presenting them as an integral part of contemporary Italy.
Unfortunately, Professor Marco Gargiulo, who was scheduled to join remotely from the University of Bergen in Norway, was unable to connect due to technical difficulties.
His absence was certainly felt, but it did not diminish the quality of the event, which remained engaging and well attended.
The evening’s main speaker was Professor Antonia Rubino from the University of Sydney, who guided the audience through the sociolinguistic dynamics of present-day Italy and of Italian communities abroad.
From the role of dialects in shaping identity to their transformation within migrant contexts, her talk illustrated how linguistic varieties are not merely folkloric relics, but living tools of expression, belonging and cultural negotiation.
The discussion also touched on Italian cinema, often a faithful mirror of the country’s social and regional differences. On screen, an Italy emerges that is plural and layered—far removed from the idea of a single, monolithic language.
Following opening remarks from the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute Marco Gioacchini and Consul General Gianluca Rubagotti, the evening concluded with a lively question-and-answer session and final remarks by President of Com.It.Es. NSW Luigi Di Martino.
It was an event that reaffirmed a simple truth: Italy does not speak with a single voice—and it is precisely this multiplicity that gives it strength.
