Abstract
This article lays out the onomastic pattern of Mirtilla, the dramatic poem written by Nino Costa in 1936, set in the Canavese valleys towards the end of 14th Century, against the background of the Tuchini uprising. It was set to music by Luigi Perracchio and staged on 13th February 2000 at the Piccolo Regio Theatre in Turin. My onomastic analysis identifies a link between the name of the main character and title of this poem and the name of the main character and title of the novel by Mistral, Nerto, which is Occitan for «mirto». This latter name was retained in the title and text of the novel when it was first translated into Italian by Diego Valeri (1918), but was subsequently changed into Mirtilla (only in the title) in the new 1930 edition, in line with the linguistic purism of the Fascist era. Several other onomastic choices are linked to Provençal culture, while at the same time, through the celebration of an event in the history of Canavese, the author brings to the fore local traditions and dialects at a time when foreign terms and dialects were frowned upon.