Vivaldi Speaks—In Dialect!

VIVaio Acustico delle Lingue e dei Dialetti d'Italia is the long form of the acronymn (and Web site) Vivaldi, essentially an Italian linguistic atlas with a multitude of audio examples of speakers from Sicilia, Liguria, and Sardegna reciting specific words and phrases in their regional language and dialect. The multimedia Google Maps mash-up of native Italians speaking their local dialect is an ear-opening wonderment.

The name of the site is an homage to Antonio Vivaldi (1678—1741), the Baroque music composer best known for Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons), a series of four violin concerti, who was born and raised in the Republic of Venice. Therefore, he spoke Veneto (Venetian), a Romance language spoken mostly in the Veneto region of Italy.