17th century in Italy

The '''''' () were members of an agrarian visionary tradition in the Friuli district of Northeastern Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries. The claimed to travel out of their bodies while asleep to struggle against malevolent sorcerers (; ) in order to ensure good crops for the season to come. Between 1575 and 1675, in the midst of the Early Modern witch trials, a number of were accused of being heretics or witches under the Roman Inquisition.

movement in art and architecture

The Seicento ( , ) is Italian history and culture during the 17th century. The Seicento saw the end of the Renaissance movement in Italy and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque era. The word means 'six hundred' and is short for , '1600'.

thumb|200px|alt=A black and white drawing of a man walking on a stone pathway, with two other men idle on the path's sides|The priest don Abbondio sees at once that the thugs waiting for him are bravi. A scene from the opening of Manzoni’s I promessi sposi.

four earthquakes in Calabria, Italy