La Via Lattea nel lessico dialettale italiano: tipologie denominative e dinamiche motivazionali

The article examines the dialectal designations of the Milky Way in Italian dialectal varieties, with the aim of identifying the main onomasiological patterns and the semantic motivations underlying their formation. Starting from the distinction between the learned designation of classical tradition and the plurality of popular names, the study analyses a broad corpus of data drawn from national and regionallinguistic atlases and dialectal lexicographic repertories. The analysis highlights the richness and stratification of the motivational nuclei, which can be traced mainly to four domains: the Christian motif of pilgrimage; the eschat Marian designations; and the motif of the “stolen straw.” Alongside these strands, descriptive and functional names also emerge, assimilating the celestial band to a road, a luminous line, or an orientational marker.ological conception of the Milky Way as the path of souls toward the afterlife; hagiotoponymic and Marian designations; and the motif of the “stolen straw.” Alongside these strands, descriptive and functional names also emerge, assimilating the celestial band to a road, a luminous line, or an orientational marker. Overall, Italian designations of the Milky Way appear as local expressions of broader symbolic models in which mythic traditions, medieval Christianization, devotional practices, and pragmatic functions of orientation intertwine. Their gradual recession in contemporary usage reflects sociocultural changes that have reshaped the relationship between communities and the night sky, endowing these forms with significant documentary and testimonial value.