LaLaLexiT
Late Latin Lexicon in Transition
Project
Nationalisms and emerging ideologies, migration of peoples, major cultural and political upheavals: Late Antiquity is undoubtedly an age of great change, which shaped European culture in the following centuries. Supported by the NextGenerationEU program, the project will provide the first Latin digital glossary focused on the historical transition of Late Antiquity. As a scientific resource, the glossary will be built on the basis of lexicographic work carried out on a selection of Latin texts in prose and poetry from the period between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD. These texts hold significant literary value as they encapsulate the essence of the Late Antique transition, interpreting its complexities, and introducing or redefining expressions and imagery that have since permeated our lexicon and cultural ethos. As part of its public engagement mission, the project LaLaLexiT includes a podcast and dissemination activities.
Glossary and archives
Digital glossary
- M. Venuti (ed.), “LaLaLexiT. Late Latin Lexicon in Transition. Glossario digitale” [ITA]. Venezia, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, 2025–.
Digital archives
The LaLaLexiT project represents a convergence of expertise from research groups with extensive experience in the development of digital archives dedicated to the study of Latin texts. Specifically, our team in Venice (Ca' Foscari University) has been committed in the creation and improvement of MQDQ Galaxy, while our partners in Vercelli (UPO - University of Eastern Piedmont) have built the DigiLibLT library. These initiatives stand as testament to our commitment to fostering digital resources that facilitate comprehensive and nuanced exploration of Latin literature.
Outcomes
Publications
- M. Venuti (ed.), “LaLaLexiT. Late Latin Lexicon in Transition. Glossario digitale” [ITA]. Venezia, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, 2025–. Published entries within the Digital Glossary (last update June 2026): abiectio, apostata, caelicola, captator, christianismus, conflagratio, conuersio, impostor, lapsus, legatarius, legifer, postliminium, recidiuus, renascor, renouatio, sc(h)isma, soloecismus, traditor, translator, uerstutus, usurpatio.
- A. Arrighini, The LaLaLexiT Digital Glossary: Users’Manual, UMANISTICA DIGITALE 23 (2026), pp. 227-234 (ISSN 2532-8816)
- G. Cattaneo, M. Venuti (edd.), “Lessico latino e transizione tardoantica”. Atti del convegno LaLaLexiT (Venezia, 23-24 settembre 2025), Venice forthcoming
- DigilibLT. Biblioteca digitale di testi latini tardoantichi, 2026-. Online una nuova versione aggiornata.
- E. Ferrarini, D. Manzoli, P. Mastandrea, M. Venuti (edd.), "Venanzio Fortunato tra il Piave e la Loira". Atti del terzo convegno internazionale di studi, Venezia, Edizioni Ca' Foscari, 2026
- M. Venuti (ed.), “LaLaLexiT. Late Latin Lexicon in Transition. Glossario digitale” [ITA]. Venezia, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, 2025–
- A. Arrighini, "Querolus sive Aulularia". Introduzione, testo critico, traduzione e commento. Venezia, Edizioni Ca' Foscari, 2025
- G. Cattaneo, “Lessico della transizione, lessico in transizione nel 'De transitu Hellenismi ad Christianismum' di Guillaume Budé", in G. Abbamonte, M. Pade, J. Ramminger, F. Stok (eds), “Il lessico latino dall’Umanesimo all’età moderna”, Frascati: Accademia Vivarium Novum, 2025
Events
2026
- 15/06/2026 - Martina Venuti, “Il glossario LaLaLexiT (Late Latin Lexicon in Transition)”
International workshop "Digital Latin III", University of Siena - 15/06/2026 - Gianmario Cattaneo, Nadia Rosso, “Il mondo DigilibLT. Prospettive lessicografiche”
International workshop "Digital Latin III", University of Siena
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DIGITAL LATIN III
Digital tools and AI for research on Latin lexicon |
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9/06/2026 - Alice Borgna, Martina Venuti, "LaLaLexiT: intorno all'edizione deigitale del glossario sul 'lessico latino della transizione tardoantica'"
International workshop "Encoding Greek and Latin Lexica: Digital Models and New Research Frontiers", Sapienza Università of Rome |
4 MB |
- 8/06/2026 - Martina Venuti, "Veliuolus. Dal cielo al mare, e ritorno. Storia di una parola antica " [ITA]
III International Congress "Il valore dell'acqua. Stato dell'arte e nuove prospettive di ricerca", University of Milan
- 2-3/02/2026 - M. Venuti, “Le anime morte: esegesi allegorica e rappresentazione degli inferi nella tarda antichità latina”
International conference "Lasciare ogni speranza? Visioni dell'aldilà e destino dei dannati dall'Antichità al Medioevo", University of Bari
Previous events
2025
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30/10/2025 - M. Venuti, "Lost in transition: storie e preistorie di testi nella tarda antichità latina" [ITA]
Seminar "Laboratorio di filologia e letterature classiche 2025", University of Florence |
104 KB |
- 29/10/2025 - A. Arrighini, “Le parole (latine) dell'epica. Legifer e caelicola: fortuna e riusi di due epicismi latini (cantiere LaLaLexiT)”
International conference "I cantieri dell'epica - Shaping Epic Studies", University of Milan
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22/10/2025 - A. Borgna, G. Cattaneo, "Spiegare la transizione tardoantica ‘a parole’: il progetto LaLaLexiT" [ITA]
International conference "Parole, testi, contesti: la lessicografia latina come strumento di indagine", University of Padua |
2 MB |
- 23-24/09/2025 - “Lessico latino e 'transizione' tardoantica”
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Conference programme [ITA]
Ca' Foscari (Aula Berengo), Venice. Connection via Zoom. |
381 KB |
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Conference abstracts [ITA] | 312 KB |
2024
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9/10/2024 - Silverio Franzoni, "I florilegi latini: istruzioni per l'uso" [ITA]
"I ferri del mestiere: seminari di filologia e letteratura latina", Department of Humanities, Malcanton Marcorà (Aula Milone), Venice |
2 MB |
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8/10/2024 - Andrea Arrighini, "Exploring Late Antiquity through the Lexicon of Transition: the LaLaLexiT Project"
International conference, California State University, Long Beach |
177 KB |
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25/09/2024 - Carmela Cioffi, "Costruire uno stemma in tradizioni complesse" [ITA]
"I ferri del mestiere: seminari di filologia e letteratura latina", Department of Humanities, Malcanton Marcorà (Aula Milone), Venice |
2 MB |
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29/06/2024 - Gianmario Cattaneo, "Lessico della transizione, lessico in transizione nel 'De transitu Hellenismi ad Christianismum' di G. Budé" [ITA]
International conference:, Accademia Vivarium novum, Villa Falconieri, Viale F. Borromini 5, Frascati (Rome) |
2 MB |
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1/06/2024 - Martina Venuti and Andrea Arrighini, "Late Latin words in transition: 'recidivus' and 'renascor' within the LaLaLexiT project"
International conference "Empire and Form Metamorphoses of Genre in Roman Literature II: Imperial Age", University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts |
283 KB |
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15/04/2024 - Seminar “Storie di parole: nell'officina del Thesaurus linguae Latinae", Venice [ITA]
Michael Hillen, “Il Thesaurus linguae Latinae. Basic idea, development, methods”; Roberta Marchionni, “«Reus». Un articolo in preparazione al Thesaurus linguae Latinae” |
1 MB |
Dissemination
"PODCAST LaLaLexiT"
(in collaboration with Radio6023) - forthcoming
"Rinascita, confine, ma anche legge, impostore, traduttore". Italian words with a long history rooted in antiquity and the Latin language. But when, and through what events, did the meanings of these concepts come to be defined?
In the LALALEXIT project podcast, Martina Venuti, Alice Borgna, Alessandro Barbero and Edoardo Camurri will take you on a journey to discover the history of some particularly significant Latin words from the so-called Late Antique Transition.
“Est modus in verbis! Studying the Latin Lexicon”
PCTO (Paths for Transversal Skills and Orientation) project
Why is the lexicon important? When we say "Latin," what do we mean? Which Latin are we referring to? There is the Latin of the oldest inscriptions, the Latin of Virgil, the Latin of Isidore of Seville, the Latin of doctors and lawyers, and even that of the Church. How many lives does a word have?
This project focuses on the lexicon as a fundamental tool for approaching the Latin language and understanding its diachronic evolution. It aims to enhance participants' awareness of the linguistic and cultural developments of Latin words and expressions in Italian.
Team
Principal Investigator
Scientific Advisor
![Maurizio Lana [ITA]](/fileadmin/user_upload/LaLaLexiT/img/Lana_2.jpg "Maurizio Lana [ITA]")
Post-doc fellow
![Gianmario Cattaneo [ITA]](/fileadmin/user_upload/LaLaLexiT/img/gianmario-cattaneo.jpg "Gianmario Cattaneo [ITA]")
Scientific International Advisory Board
- Prof. Laura Carnevale [ITA], University of Bari Aldo Moro
- Prof. Donato De Gianni, University of Cagliari
- Prof. Massimo Gioseffi [ITA], University of Milan
- Dr. Roberta Marchionni [DEU], Thesaurus Linguae Latinae
- Prof. David Paniagua Aguilar [ESP], Universidad de Salamanca