The Formal Locative "vi"
In Italian, the most common locative pronoun for "there" is ci. However, in more formal contexts or written Italian, you will often encounter its equivalent, vi.
| there (formal) | vi |
Euphonic Substitution: "vi si"
When combining a locative "there" with the impersonal pronoun si (to express what "one does there"), using ci creates the combination ci si.
Because ci si is already used for impersonal reflexive verbs (like ci si sveglia for "one wakes up"), using it as a locative can sound awkward or confusing. To improve the flow and clarity of the sentence—a concept known as euphony—Italian substitutes the locative ci with vi, creating vi si.
Simply place vi si immediately before the conjugated verb.
| I want you to tune into this podcast because an excellent satire is heard there. | Voglio che ti sintonizzi su questo podcast perché vi si ascolta un'ottima satira. |
| By the way, in the new schedule, one finds an interesting segment there. | A proposito, nel nuovo palinsesto vi si trova una rubrica interessante. |
Tuning into Media
This structure is extremely common when discussing what one finds when tuning into different forms of media, such as an in-depth analysis (un approfondimento) or a specific segment (una rubrica).
| In that in-depth analysis, such a complicated issue is analyzed there that I learn a lot. | In quell'approfondimento, vi si analizza una tematica così complicata che imparo molto. |
| In that live stream, an unpublished anecdote is told there. | In quella diretta vi si racconta un aneddoto inedito. |
| I tune in every morning because a novel issue is addressed there. | Mi sintonizzo ogni mattina perché vi si affronta una tematica inedita. |
| In that segment, the news is commented on there with satire. | In quella rubrica vi si commenta la notizia con la satira. |