`` Commedia dell ` Arte '' is Italian for `` Comedy of Art '' . Commedia dell ` arte , the closest translation being `` comedy of craft '' , ( shortened from commedia dell ` arte all ` improviso , or `` comedy through the art of improvisation '' ) is a form of theater that began in Italy in the mid-16th century characterized by masked `` types '' , the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios . Here , arte does not refer to `` art '' as we currently consider the word , but rather to that which is made by gli artigiani ( artisans ) .