Giambattista Basile

Giambattista Basile (1566 - 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier and fairy tale collector. These collection of fairy tales includes the oldest recorded form of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembered for writing the collection of Neapolitan fairy tales titled Lo cunto de li cunti overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille (Neapolitan for "The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones"), also known as Il Pentamerone published posthumously in two volumes...See more

Giambattista Basile (1566 - 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier and fairy tale collector. These collection of fairy tales includes the oldest recorded form of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembered for writing the collection of Neapolitan fairy tales titled Lo cunto de li cunti overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille (Neapolitan for "The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones"), also known as Il Pentamerone published posthumously in two volumes by his sister Adriana in Naples, Italy in 1634 and 1636 under the pseudonym Gian Alesio Abbatutis. It later became known as the Pentamerone. See less