Editorial note.

This last issue of 2012 is as rich and broad in content and scope as is the tradition of Italica. Our journal has become, even more than in the past, one of the most important venues in the field of Italian studies. I am delighted to announce that the MIUR, the Italian Ministry for instruction and University Research, has ranked ltalica as one of the most important scholarly journals for three distinct disciplines: Italian linguistics, literature, and philology, Italica is, in fact, one of the top venues reconlmended to Italian scholars who are facing the "concorsi universitari," the national contests which determine both the academic job market and the tenure and promotion system in Italy.

This flattering and rewarding result could not have been achieved without the continuous support of all the members of AATI, the officers of the association, as well as the work of the editorial board, the associate editors, the specialist readers, and of our past and current editorial assistants. Naturally, the most significant role is and will always be that of the authors who keep sending articles to Italica: your excellent work is, ultimately, what makes the scholarly status of the journal. I take advantage of the opportunity, once again, to thank you for your patience, and to apologize for the inevitable delays with which many of the articles come out: the quality and quantity of your submissions delight us, but delay publication time. To all of vou mentioned above go my heartfelt thanks for making Italica one of the publishing cornerstones of the academic disciplines which it so broadly represents. This is the first issue that welcomes, officially, Mary Migliozzi as the new editorial assistant. Mary has already worked on the proofs of the previous two issues, so her precious work is not new to me or to our recent authors.