The schema generally used to describe the linguistic situation in Italy includes two categories: dialetto regionale (regional dialect) and italiano regionale (regional Italian). These stand apart from the widely accepted sociolinguistic model "variety--dialect--language." It is demonstrated that both these categories should be treated simply as dialects, the dialetto regionale an "old" dialect stemming directly from Proto-Romance, and the italiano regionale a "new" dialect resulting from a relatively recent fragmentation of standard (Tuscan) Italian. Should the original Italian dialects ("sister" dialects of Tuscan) die out within a few generations, they will not have vanished entirely: the italiani regionali, continuing some of the old dialects' structural features, may remain and become the Italian dialects of the future. (Author)