What is Italian literature?
[[File:Italien humanists by Giorgio Vasari.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Italy in the Middle Ages|Medieval]] and [[Italian humanism|humanist]] Italian writers: [[Dante Alighieri]], [[Giovanni Boccaccio]], [[Francesco Petrarca]], [[Guido Cavalcanti]], [[Cino da Pistoia]], and [[Guittone d'Arezzo]] represented by the Italian artist and history expert [[Giorgio Vasari]] (1544).]] '''Italian literature''' is written in the [[Italian language]], especially in [[Italy]]. It may also refer to literature written by [[Italian people|Italians]] or in [[Languages of Italy|other languages spoken in Italy]], often languages that are very similar to [[Italian language|modern Italian]], including [[Regional Italian|regional varieties and dialects]]. Italian literature begins in the 12th century, when in different areas of the [[Italian Peninsula|peninsula]] the Italian [[vernacular]] started to be used to write books. The ''[[Salv'a lo vescovo senato|Ritmo laurenziano]]'' is the first text of Italian literature. ==History== One of the first examples of Italian literature is the tradition of [[lyric poetry]] sung in [[Occitan language|Occitan]]. This tradition arrived in Italy by the end of the 12th century. In 1230, the [[Sicilian School]] became famous for being the first style in standard Italian. [[Dante Alighieri]], one of the greatest of Italian poets, is important and famous for being the author of ''[[Divine Comedy|La Divina Commedia]]'' (''The Divine Comedy'', c. 1308–1320). [[Renaissance humanism]] developed during the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries. Early Italian humanists, such as the lyric poet [[Francesco Petrarca]] and the [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonist]] [[philosopher]] [[Marsilio Ficino]], were highly educated [[Classics|Classical]] [[scholars]] and great collectors of old manuscripts. The development of the [[drama]] in the 15th century was very great. In the 16th century, the main feature of the time following the end of the Renaissance is that it perfected the Italian character of its language. [[Ni