Commedia dell'arte was a form of improvisational theatre that originated in Italy in the 16th century. It used stock characters and improvisation without a written script. The characters included comedic types like the boastful soldier Capitano, the miserly old man Pantalone, and the clever servant Arlecchino. Actors would develop short comedic scenes called lazzi involving these characters. The style used masks to help audiences identify characters and encouraged physical comedy through exaggerated movement. It spread across Europe and influenced later theatrical forms.