Venetian Origins of the Commedia dell'Arte

<em> <p><em>The Venetian Origins of the Commedia dell'Arte</em> is a striking new enquiry into the late-Renaissance stirrings of professional secular comedy in Venice and their connection to the development of what came to be known as the Commedia dell'Arte. The book contends that through a symbiotic collaboration between patrician amateurs and plebeian professionals innovative forms of comedy developed in the Venice region fusing 'high' and 'low' culture in a provocative mix that had a truly mass appeal. </p> <p>Rich with anecdotes diary entries and literary - often ribald - comic passages Peter Jordan's central argument has important implications for the study of Venetian art popular theatre and European cultural history.</p></em>