Promotion of Friulan-speaking linguistic minorities in Veneto - Final event

BEYOND BORDERS. STORIES OF MULTICULTURALISM

FINAL EVENT OF THE “PRIMIS PLUS” PROJECT ON THE PROMOTION OF FRIULIAN-SPEAKING LINGUISTIC MINORITIES IN VENETO

“Although endangered by oblivion and the predominant use of Italian, linguistic minorities still hold significant cultural importance in Veneto. International partnership projects like ‘Primis Plus’ enable their protection by enhancing historical and artistic memories.” This is how Cristiano Corazzari, the Regional Minister of Culture with responsibility for the protection of linguistic minorities, summarizes the essence of the Primis Plus project, funded by the European INTERREG Italy-Slovenia VI-A 2021-2027 program, which will host an important transnational event in Teglio Veneto on Monday, September 8.

Besides the Veneto Region, the project partnership includes, for Italy, the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Società Filologica Friulana “Graziadio Isaia Ascoli,” and ATS Projekt; for Slovenia, the Italian Union (Slovenia) and the Inštitut za narodnostna vprašanja.

“In the framework of this initiative,” explains Regional minister Corazzari, “all seven municipalities in Veneto where Friulian is still spoken as a historical minority language have been involved: Portogruaro, Concordia Sagittaria, Teglio Veneto, Cinto Caomaggiore, Fossalta di Portogruaro, San Michele al Tagliamento, and Gruaro. Events promoting the historical heritage with a tourist perspective were organized in these municipalities. The goal is to bring local culture closer not only to residents but also to the millions of tourists visiting the nearby beaches, thereby promoting the tourism offer and the economic activities of the inland areas.” The projects included musical events, book editions, and presentations, all linked to the theme of linguistic minorities.

A particularly significant result of Primis Plus is the publication of the volume entitled Cuncuardia: Historical Research Along the Lemene between Portogruaro and Concordia. The book will be presented during the “Beyond Borders” event in Teglio Veneto at Studio Idee Materia (starting at 7:30 PM), curated by archaeologist Vincenzo Gobbo and historian Luca Vendrame, both experts on the history of the border area between Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. The volume, which includes 55 scientifically valuable contributions, covers various aspects of the culture of the Portogruaro area. Although seriously threatened, Friulian is still present in this territory, which for much of the Middle Ages was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and where, even after the Venetian Republic’s conquest, Friulian remained predominantly spoken in several areas.

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The volume retraces the historical memory of this cultural heritage, highlighting how life and a unique collection of artistic testimonies have been shaped around the language, making it a true “cultural deposit.” From the Roman municipality of Concordia—the first identity marker of the whole territory—to the episcopal seat, churches with their rich frescoes, castles, and abbeys, and the humanistic culture, especially in Portogruaro during the 15th and 16th centuries, many features still characterize this border area between Veneto and Friuli, where different identity and linguistic elements coexist without opposition.

Following the presentation of this over 900-page research work, the special concert Livemovement by clarinetist Anton Dressler will take place, offering the participants an evening blending words and music, history and experimentation, from the lands of the Lemene River to electronic soundscapes.

Livemovement is Anton Dressler’s solo project where the acoustic clarinet interacts in real-time with electronics. Balancing improvisation and composition, Dressler layers polyphonic echoes that transform the space into sound material, using looping, processing, and timbral extensions to create an open form alternating written cells and improvised sections, building polyphonies and micro-rhythms on the fly.

The performance is modular and evolving: a fluid journey exploring different timbres, rhythms, and atmospheres without losing warmth and immediacy. The music is accompanied by a projection of nature-inspired images: waters, vegetation, horizons, and material details that converse with the sound as a second voice. Images appear and fade, opening depths, suggesting breath and pulse, creating correspondences with the sonic architecture. Part of the visuals come from the border landscapes between Veneto and Friuli: river gravel banks, floodplains, urban edges, Alpine ridges, transit territories reflecting the aesthetic threshold of the project, between acoustic and electronic, natural and artificial. The editing reacts to rhythm, scale, and texture to amplify the sense of continuous transformation. The result is an immersive environment where electronics extend the clarinet and visuals prolong its echo, turning the space into a changing landscape.

The project Primis Plus - Stories of Multiculturalism: A Sensory Journey through the Prism of Minorities - aims to enhance the multicultural and multilingual peculiarities of indigenous communities through innovative, interactive, and multimedia tools. By developing sustainable cultural tourism focused on tangible and intangible heritage and organizing cross-border cultural events, the project seeks to increase the area’s attractiveness. Cooperation among various institutions representing national communities helps create a shared system for cross-border cultural tourism promotion, uniting the diversity and peculiarities related to multiculturalism and multilingualism, and crafting a unique image of the program area.

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