Italian school of swordsmanship

Italian School of Swordsmanship

The sette spade Diagram from the Pisani facsimile of the Flos Duellatorum (fol. 17A). The four animals symbolize prudence (lynx), celerity (tiger), audacity (lion), and fortitude (elephant).
Also known as	La Scuola Della Spada Italiana
Focus	Weaponry
Country of origin	Italy
Creator	Historical
Famous practitioners	Fiore dei Liberi, Filippo Vadi, Achille Marozzo, Antonio Manciolino, Angelo Viggiani,
Descendant arts	Modern fencing
Olympic sport	No

The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of classical fencing (up to 1900).

Although the weapons and the reason for their use changed dramatically throughout these five centuries, a few fundamental traits have remained constant in the Italian school. Some of these are the preference for certain guards, the preoccupation with time (or "tempo") in fencing as well as many of the defensive actions.

The Dardi school of fencing with the spada da lato was one of the influences of the early modern style of fencing.