The situation of the oral tradition in Resia Valley (Italy) has been the subject of continual research interest in the decades following the crucial field surveys carried out by Milko Matičetov in the 1960s and 1970s. Recent field research in the same area allows for comparison between contemporary Resian cultural heritage and the state of affairs recorded approximately fifty years ago. Given that oral tradition, especially narratives, seem to be relatively better preserved in Resia than in nearby linguistic areas (e.g. Friulia), the author wishes to ascertain the role of oral tradition in present processes of self representation of the Resian community. Moreover, he depicts the different ways of transmitting and performing oral tradition, recognising its transformations and functions as well as its new dimensions of its symbolic role inside and outside of Resia.

Po izredno pomembnem terenskem delu, ki ga je v 60. in 70. letih prejšnjega stoletja opravil Milko Matičetov, stanju ustnega izročila Rezijanske doline v Italiji v zadnjih desetletjih stalno sledimo. Terensko delo, ki je bilo nedavno opravljeno na tem območju, omogoča nekaj primerjav med sodobno rezijansko kulturno dediščino in stanjem pred približno petdesetimi leti. Ker je v primerjavi s sosednjimi jezikovnimi območji (npr. furlanskim) ustno izročilo, predvsem pripovedništvo, razmeroma dobro ohranjeno, avtor želi ugotoviti, kakšno vlogo ima v sodobnem času in v procesu samopredstavljanja rezijanske skupnosti, v katerih oblikah se to izročilo prenaša in izraža, ter prepoznati spremembe in morebitne funkcije ali simbolične vloge novih razsežnosti izročila v in zunaj Rezije.