In music, a villanella (Italian pronunciation: [villaˈnɛlla]; plural villanelle) is a form of light Neapolitan secular vocal music which originated in the Kingdom of Naples just before the middle of the 16th century.
The subject matter is generally rustic, comic, and often satirical; frequently the mannerisms of art music, such as the madrigal, are a subject of parody.
The villanelle became one of the most popular forms of song in Italy around mid-century.
The music of the early villanella (known as the canzone villanesca) is invariably for three unaccompanied voices.
The first composers of villanelle were the Neapolitans Giovanni Domenico da Nola and Giovan Tomaso di Maio; later composers, no longer from Naples, included Adrian Willaert, Luca Marenzio, Adriano Banchieri, Orlande de Lassus, and others.