Wow, this is more complex than I thought. It looks like in Italian, you have a single consonant ɲ. In English, ɲ doesn't exist. We say nj, a two consonant cluster, and most people can't properly distinguish the two sounds.
The end result here is that in English the g causes a sound change after the n, and basically qualifies it as a silent letter. This is a subtly different sound from the Italian version, where it merges with the n and does not qualify as a silent letter.
The end result here is that in English the g causes a sound change after the n, and basically qualifies it as a silent letter. This is a subtly different sound from the Italian version, where it merges with the n and does not qualify as a silent letter.