Il francoitaliano: storia e teoria

The term “franco-italian” covers different things: French texts copied, reworked or composed in Italy, but also Italian texts with strong French influence. When did the concept and the name arise? What alternatives have been proposed? How have critical approaches changed since the 19th century? How can the study of modern languages in contact help us to understand these works? Can we establish subtler distinctions between texts and varieties? Do these texts use a particular language or do they represent unrelated cases of interference between French and Italian? In dealing with these issues, the article serves as an introduction to the following studies, devoted to specific areas.