Italian music will take centre stage in Asunción on 20 and 21 August 2026, with two free events. The programme includes a training session for Italian teachers and “Made in Italy: le canzoni italiane più famose nel mondo”, a concert featuring international and Paraguayan artists. The events are part of a South American cultural and educational project involving the Società Dante Alighieri committees in Asunción, Mar del Plata, Villa Carlos Paz, Salta and Rio de Janeiro. The initiative is supported by the Società Dante Alighieri in Rome and the Embassy of Italy in Paraguay.
“Music has a unique ability to bring us closer to a language and culture through emotion,” says Viviana Ruggero, president of Società Dante Alighieri Paraguay. “With these activities, we want audiences to encounter Italy through its songs while discovering music’s potential as a tool for teaching and dialogue between cultures.”
Training session for Italian teachers
The programme will begin with the Incontro di formazione “Con te partirò: L’uso delle canzoni per l’insegnamento della lingua, della cultura e della letteratura italiana” on Thursday 20 August. The session will take place from 16:00 to 20:00 at the Instituto Dante Alighieri, at Alberdi 787, Asunción. The class will be led by Prof. Fabio Caon of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
The training is aimed at teachers of Italian as a second or foreign language. Participants will explore how songs can be used to teach Italian language, culture and literature. Caon is a professor of Educational Linguistics and a singer-songwriter. Since 2007, he has developed educational concerts in Italy and abroad alongside Francesco Sartori and Angelo Lacitignola. Participation is free, but prior registration is required by 17 August. Registration is available through the online form, while further information can be obtained via WhatsApp.
Italian classics come to Asunción
On Friday 21 August, “Made in Italy: le canzoni italiane più famose nel mondo” will take place. The session will begin at 19:30 at the Salón Teatro of Hotel Excelsior. The free concert will bring together international and Paraguayan musicians to perform Italian songs that have become internationally recognised classics. Prior reservation is available via WhatsApp.
The repertoire includes “Con te partirò”, “O’ Sole mio”, “Qualcosa più dell’ora – If Only”, “Un’estate italiana” and “Miserere”. The evening will also feature moments of interaction with the audience. Among the international guests will be Maestro Francesco Sartori, the composer of the melody for “Con te partirò”, which became famous worldwide through Andrea Bocelli. Sartori has also composed “Canto della Terra”, “If Only” and “Mille Lune Mille Onde”. His career includes collaborations with artists such as Gianna Nannini and work on the soundtrack for the film Vajont.
Keyboardist and singer Angelo Lacitignola will also perform. He studied piano with Sartori and has spent the past two decades collaborating with Sartori and Caon on educational concerts in Italy and abroad. The Paraguayan line-up will feature soprano Mayra Torres and tenor Mustafà Dujak. Torres is studying classical singing at the National University of Asunción and has experience in choral and operatic performances. Dujak, a qualified classical singing teacher, has performed as a soloist and in opera productions.
Part of a regional cultural project
The Asunción events form part of a wider South American circuit connecting Società Dante Alighieri committees in five cities. The project follows an initiative held in Buenos Aires in 2024 and aims to expand cultural and educational activities across the region. In Paraguay, the Asunción committee promotes Italian language and culture through educational programmes, cultural activities and partnerships with Italian and Paraguayan institutions. The committee’s facilities also include a library with more than 30,000 volumes and an Italian choir with more than 10 years of history.
