Compositions in the form of a dispute or contrast were quite common in the middle ages, present in the repertoires of minstrels, bards, storysingers and other itinerant artists. Documents attesting to the presence of forms of verbal dueling between two figures are found in Italy since about 1090. Among the themes were religious ones like “Christ and Satan,” philosophical kind of disputatio, “Lovers’ Contrasts,” and others similar to themes still performed today, like “Mother and Daughter.” The Contrasto is present in Tuscany since the fourteenth century. In this period Antonio Pucci was active, leaving us several written Contrasti. In the Trattato de li Contrasti (Treatise of the Contrasts) by Gidino da Sommacampagna, around 1381-84, we find a description of the genre that could largely apply to the contemporary forms as well. The Tuscan octet (with structure ABABABCC) was already used by the poet Giovanni Boccaccio in the Filostrato, dated 1335. Some scholars believe that Boccaccio created the octet by modifying a similar metric form that had been used by Cino Da Pistoia. Others think that the octet originated in France and was then brought to Italy during the French domination. Still others hypothesize an older origin of the octet among the Italian popular strata and in the context of the religious or troubadour compositions. From the fifteenth century the figure of the poet who sings while improvising starts to distinguish itself from other kinds of performers (like minstrels and storysingers). Interesting in this regard is the Certame Coronario, from 1441, where eight poets dispute the theme of “true friendship.” In this case in fact we can deduce that the poets were improvising. The name Poeti Bernescanti (literally “poets in Berni’s style”) is derived from the name of the Tuscan writer and poet Francesco Berni, who became quite renown in the 17th century for his satiric compositions. In the 17th century the poets began to “chain” the octets, so that the first verse of an octet rhymes with the last verse of the preceding octet.
In the last century and until the 1950s, dueling poets were a common scene on the plazas and in the marketplaces of Tuscan cities and villages. They used their art to gather people, to whom they would then sell various goods. After World War II, with the disappearance of the daily markets, this economic purpose was lost, and the Contrasto became a performance done on stage for entertainment purposes. As such, it came to be perceived more as a form of art than as a form of interaction that could be used by anybody. The few poets left have become specialists. The contexts where the Contrasti are most commonly performed today are public festivals and events, although they may also be performed in more private occasions, like marriages. In Tuscany there are festivals organized by the various district units of the parties; traditional Sagre feasts, that center in country villages, around a particular seasonal food or produce; religious festivals, organized by the parishes; and new revivalist festivals, born from recent attempts to recover and reinforce various traditions. The most common festivals are those organized by the parties of the left. The Festivals of Unity, organized by the Democrats of the Left Party, and the Festivals of Liberation, organized by the Party for the Communist Refoundation, are practically a cultural institution. For the poets, performing at the festivals means being able to adapt to any kind of distressing circumstance. The places are noisy, and the audience may be only partially seated, or just pass by, coming and going. The stage may be uncomfortably huge, too far from the audience, or absent. The lighting may leave them in darkness or shine in their faces to the point of blinding them. The microphones and speakers may be old or broken, and occasionally may produce their own deafening “performance” of hissing, screeching and shrieking. Part of the art of being a poet, then, is to be able to improvise solutions to these problems. Apart from the festivals, other events may require the presence of the poets. In recent years, they have performed occasionally at local radio or TV stations. On two occasions they were also invited to perform for the students at the universities of Bologna and Rome. More importantly, since 1992 a yearly gathering of poets has been organized in the town of Ribolla, in the province of Grosseto. Here the poets meet, renew old acquaintances and organize for further encounters.
