Giambattista Basile

Giambattista Basile (1566-1632) was an Italian poet, writer, courtier, politician, and fairytale collector born in Giugliano in Campania, Italy. He was a citizen of the Republic of Venice and held various occupations during his life, such as serving as a courtier and collecting fairytales. Basile famously wrote a 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"). He often wrote under the pseudonym Gian Alesio Abbattutis.

One of Basile's most notable works is "Pentamerone", a collection of fairytales containing many tales that he authored. Some of the stories in the collection include "Sun, Moon, and Talia", "Il racconto dei racconti, ovvero, Il trattenimento dei piccoli", "The Cinderella Cat", "Petrosinella", "Cagliuso", "The Flea (fairy tale)", "The Enchanted Doe", "The Young Slave", "Peruonto", "The Myrtle", "The tale of the ogre", "Pintosmalto", "Zezolla, The Cat Cinderella", "The Love for Three Oranges (fairy tale)", "The Enchanted Snake", "Green Grass", "The Three Sisters (fairy tale)", "The Merchant (fairy tale)", "Corvetto (fairy tale)", "Violet (fairy tale)", "The Goat-Faced Girl", "Penta of the Chopped-off Hands", "The Dove (fairy tale)", "The Three Crowns", "The Dragon (fairy tale)", "The Raven (fairy tale)", and "Stories from the Pentamerone (book)".

Basile passed away on February 23, 1632, in Giugliano in Campania, Italy.