Commedia dell'Arte (Italian pronunciation: [komˈmɛːdja delˈlarte]) is a form of theater characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16^th century and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improvviso, or "comedy of the craft of improvisation". Here, arte does not refer to "art" as we currently consider the word, but rather to that which is made by artigiani (artisans).^{[citation needed]} In fact, the term arte was coined much later, for in the early period the term used in contemporary accounts is commedia all'improviso. This was to distinguish the form from commedia erudita or learned comedy that was written by academics and performed by amateurs. Commedia dell'arte, conversely, was performed by professional actors (comici) who perfected a specific role or mask.

Italian theater historians, such as Roberto Tessari, Ferdinando Taviani, and Luciano Pinto believe commedia developed as a response to the political and economic crisis of the 14th century and, as a consequence, became the first entirely professional form of theater.

Arte (Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne) is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts. Its facilities are located in Issy-les-Moulineaux, South of Paris and Strasbourg (headquarters) in France and Baden-Baden in Germany.

Because it is an international joint venture (an EEIG), programs cater technically to audiences from both countries. This implies double-titling, opposite-language subtitling and dubbing, hosts speaking both languages alternately and generally two separate audio tracks (available through DVB-T, satellite television and digital cable).

Arte began transmission in 1992, filling frequencies left unused by the demise of La Cinq, the first French commercial television network (created in 1986).

Programs are created by Arte France formerly known as La Sept (theoretically La Société d'édition des programmes de télévision, but also a play on words, given that the name intuitively means the seventh network and indeed La Sept existed while the fifth network was still La Cinq; it made satellite television programs at the time) and by ARTE Deutschland GmbH, a subsidiary of the two main public German TV networks ARD and ZDF.