Interweaving - dynamics, structures, motifs

The term intreccio, taken from the field of needlework, namely weaving, which forms the theme of the Italian Studies Day 2026, is not an established technical term. However, it has heuristic potential, as it describes the joining together of elements that nevertheless remain distinct in a result perceived as a whole: just as the individual strands are still recognisable when weaving a plait or a basket, there are also a large number of phenomena in literature, language and culture that have the interlocking and interaction of distinctive units in common. As in a multimodal communication, for example, the linguistic and visual levels can be distinguished from each other, but it is only the interplay of the two levels that leads to more complex, complete statements.

The concept of intreccio therefore seems to refer to present rather than latent aspects, e.g. linguistic patterns (various regular structures), themes or motifs in literature, film or theatre and thus also in language and cultural mediation. The connection of media (inter-, transmediality) or modalities (multimodality) is also relevant here, as are the relationships between human and other actors or cultural practices (inter- and transculturality). Interdependencies can also be found across language levels or in dialect or language contact as well as in historical development. This shows that, generally speaking, processes and phenomena are not determined monocausally or in a straight line. Rather, various external factors and influences are relevant (in addition to internal developments). Links can become more firmly established, but can also dissolve - what is important, however, is the fundamental possibility of analysing them.

The triad dinamiche - strutture - motivi describes different approaches. The motivi can be seen as impulses for change, but also as elements linked in praesentia within the intrecci, which present and thematise the theme of intreccio itself. The strutture are the respective relationships between the interwoven elements, for example the concrete way in which a connection of storylines is constructed in a theatre play or film, or hybrid forms and linguistic structures in general that have arisen in the context of dialect or language contact, as they bundle different lexical-grammatical aspects, or the connections between subject didactics and its related disciplines. The concept of dinamiche, on the other hand, can be interpreted diachronically: How do entanglements form, how do they dissolve? How do changes, shifts in emphasis and changes in perspective become evident within the interdependencies and how can they be controlled? What internal and external factors underlie such dynamics? The dinamiche can also be understood as characteristics of an intreccio that can, for example, trigger movements (movements of thought, emotions, judgements or changes in perspective). Last but not least, dynamics also play an important role in language teaching, for example in the investigation of factors that can influence the didactic-methodological approach in Italian lessons.

In the context of intrecci, the conference theme offers an opportunity to reflect on the various forms of merging and interweaving, their concrete forms and dynamics, in historical change and in intermedial, intercultural and other forms of comparison.