'Dreaming in Italy': ibridazione e creatività in un digital diary video

This essay examines aspects of generic hybridity, innovation and creativity in a digital diary video on Basilicata. Integrating tools from multimodal analysis (Kress and van Leeuwen 2001, 2006) and genre analysis (Bhatia, 2004, 2011), the research first investigates the semiotic visual and acoustic interplay between dynamic images and the soundscape (voice-off, soundtrack and sound effects). Data reveal that the multimodally-shaped tourist gaze (Urry, 2002) encompasses values of authenticity, tradition and hospitality. Intersemiosis (Royce, 2007) is then discussed in terms of generic hybridity, as the video occupies an in-between position, questioning tourism and travel conceptual and textual borders (Francesconi, 2014). The travelogue ultimately realizes an indirect and powerful promotional function in terms of destination image formation and destination choice behaviour.