Language and Culture: An Italian Perspective

The Ferrucci Institute for Italian Experience and Research is pleased to announce the tenth edition of the Italian Perspective Series, focusing on the intersection of Language and Culture. The event will take place in the magnificent yet intimate venue of the Musco Center for the Arts, our dynamic focal point for campus life and the broader community. The series operates under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy and the Institute for Italian Culture in Los Angeles.

This public event is an interdisciplinary exploration of Italian language, identity, and linguistic belonging. The program will feature keynote talks and live performances of poetry and songs. Designed to reflect Italy’s enduring humanistic legacy and linguistic diversity, this multifaceted gathering embodies the Institute’s mission to celebrate Italy as both a geographic place and a global idea. Aimed at a general audience and seeking to stimulate both mind and heart, the program will reveal the interlaced development of language, history, and culture and celebrate the beauty and complexity of Italian.

Previous editions of the Italian Perspective Series include Business and Culture (2016), Music and Culture (2017), Cinema and Culture (2018), Science and Culture (2019), Food and Culture (2021), and Design and Culture (2022), Theater and Culture (2023), Song and Culture (2024), and Space and Culture (2025).

A portion of the ticket sales will support the Italian Studies program.

10:00 – 10:10 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Federico Pacchioni, Director of the Ferrucci Institute for Italian Experience and Research
Raffaella Valentini, Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles

10:10 – 10:30 a.m.
“Where Words Become Music: Italian Dialects in Song”
A performance by Michela Musolino

10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
“The Voices of a Nation: The Dialects of Italy and the Wonders of Linguistic Diversity”
A talk by Dr. Adam Ledgeway

11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Intermission

11:10 – 11:40 a.m.
“Dante and Francis, Holy Jesters”
A performance by Matthias Martelli

11:40 – 11:50pm.
Closing Remarks
Federico Pacchioni

11:50 – 12:00 p.m.
Musical closure by Michela Musolino

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Reception with Light Refreshments
Mezzanine Level