Abstract: ITALY. A MOSAIC OF CULTURES The monograph Włochy. Mozaika kultur (Italy. A Mosaic of Cultures) seeks to explore Italian multiculturalism in a synthetic manner and from the different vantage points of cultural studies, sociology, political science and history. The book is divided into three parts. The first part outlines the general context of Italian cultural diversity, showing it both in the past and at present. The first chapter concerns various ways of interpreting “Italianness” and challenges related to the process of formation of the Italian nation-state. It discusses the consequences of Italian Risorgimento and reactions of those who opposed arbitrary unification. It also touches on the traditional division into “two Italies” – northern and southern – and its significance for the formation of Italian identity. The chapter ends with a description of selected issues related to separatist movements in Italy. Chapter two is devoted to Italian regional diversity and ethnic and linguistic divisions from the moment when the Italian Republic emerged until the present day, and to an analysis of legal solutions to the protection of linguistic minorities. It also discusses the issue of disputes on granting the Roma community the official status of a historical language minority.