Francesca Peacock

Pre-Mussolini, most Italians couldn’t understand each other

Tracing her family’s recent history, Thea Lenarduzzi marvels at the 31 mutually unintelligible dialects that made for the ‘many Italys’ of her grandparents’ youth

Benito Mussolini considered the many different dialects spoken in Italy a direct threat to the country’s homogeneity. [Getty Images]
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    Thea Lenarduzzi

    Fitzcarraldo Editions, pp. 288, £12

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