Italy

Occitan was the first language in which Italian literature was written. Italian came later. It was formed from Occitan and French. Non-religious literature started in the 13th century. This was a period of political and civil revival in Italy's cities. A renaissance took place in art and culture as well. There were several different types of literature from this time period. These include religious poetry, poetry made popular by French jongleurs, comi-satrical poetry, chilvaric literature, didactic and moralistic prose and love poetry. These writings of Italy were written for art. Another type of literature that came about in the 13th century was religious literature. Religious poems and religious drama became popular. Tuscans spoke a language close to Latin. This language became one of the most used languages for literature. There was popular love poetry in Tuscany. Politcal poetry also started in Tuscany. Allegorical poetry also was written in Tuscany. The Sicilian School Petrarch Dante Alighieri Giovanni Boccaccio Alessadro Baricco Bibliography for Italy