CLAUDIO Mario D’Arezzo was born in Syracuse, Sicily, sometime between the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century. He was born into a noble family, which gave him the privilege of attending the finest academies on the island. In 1518, D’Arezzo moved to Messina, where he became a political activist, publishing various essays and pamphlets advocating for policies that would benefit Sicily. In this period, Sicily’s leadership was in contestation since France and Spain primarily— though other political entities were involved—were fighting the battles that comprised the Italian Wars (1494–1559). The Italian Wars began with claims held by both France and Spain to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples, which were then complicated by other political relationships between Spain and the Duchy of Milan, Venice, and the Papacy.

It is within the context of this long and bloody string of battles that D’Arezzo wrote his first significant political work, Trinacria ad Carolum. Written in 1520, the work was an appeal to Charles V to stop the continuous bloody struggle over Sicily. Many of the details of D’Arezzo's life are not known; however, after the publication of Trinacria ad Carolum, D’Arezzo left Sicily and was present and instrumental in the peace talks between Spain and France after the Battle of Pavia (1525). The Italian Wars, however, did not officially end until 1559 with the signing of the Treaty of Cateau- Cambresis in which France relinquished its right to the Kingdom of Naples. Nevertheless, it was in the peace negotiations following the Battle of Pavia that D’Arezzo became acquainted with Mercurino di Gattinara, an Italian humanist, who was serving as chancellor to Charles V. Through this friendship cultivated between D’Arezzo and Gattinara, Charles V became aware of D’Arezzo's writing prowess and employed him as his court historiographer from 1525 to 1532. In this article I will discuss D’Arezzo's grammar book, written during his time in Spain, and indicate how he constructs Sicilianità (Sicilian national identity). I argue that D’Arezzo's conceptualization of Sicilianità was captured through the articulation of language. I also argue that, in doing so, D’Arezzo aimed to subvert Tuscan paradigms of language and literature while centering Sicilian paradigms.