Neither Italian nor German: From Ethnolinguistic Tensions to Intercultural Dialogue in Two Contemporary South-Tyrolean Novels

South Tyrol, an Italian autonomous province bordering Austria and Switzerland, has three official languages: Italian, German, and Ladin. Despite the picture of peaceful coexistence and Alpine idyll, significant tensions between the language groups remain. They stem from traumatic historical events, especially the Italianization policy by the fascist regime after the formerly Austrian part of Tyrol south of the Brenner pass was annexed to Italy in 1919. They are also linked to the persistence of cultural stereotypes. The essay demonstrates the ways in which literature might act as a mediator between language groups through the exploration of one German-language novel, Joseph Zoderer’s Die Walsche (‘The Italian’) (1982), and one Italian-language novel, Francesca Melandri’s Eva dorme (‘Eva sleeps’) (2010). We show how these novels can be seen as representative of a contemporary South Tyrolean literature whose authors seek to overcome stereotypical images of both German-speaking and Italian-speaking populations in order to initiate stronger intercultural relations. These new voices challenge the monolingual paradigm often promoted by local politicians and advocate for a new approach to multilingual and multiethnic society.