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The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of Classical Fencing (up to 1900). Although the weapons and the reason for their use changed dramatically throughout these five centuries, a few fundamental traits have remained constant in the Italian school. Some of these are the preference for certain guards, the preoccupation with time (or "tempo") in fencing as well as many of the defensive actions.

The earliest known point of the Italian school is Fiore dei Liberi, who wrote his treatise Flos Duellatorum around 1409. Schermaonlinecom - News Forum e altro sulla Scherma!. The 16th and 17th centuries are the richest as far as extant fencing literature (see list below). In the first part of the 16th century, we have the Bolognese school and its masters like Achille Marozzo, Antonio Manciolino, Angelo Viggiani and Giovanni dall'Agocchie; at the same time, the Milanese Camillo Agrippa codifies the four guards (prima, seconda, terza and quarta) that survive to this day.

In the 17th century, the Italian school excels for its rapier masters such as Salvator Fabris, Nicoletto Giganti, Ridolfo Capoferro, Francesco Alfieri, Francesco Antonio Marcelli and Bondi' di Mazo. Although there is a considerable gap in extant Italian treatises between 1696 and 1800, we can see from the earliest 19th-century treatises that the style had changed very little during this time.

In the 19th century, the two predominant schools within the Italian tradition are the Radaellian (after Maestro G. Radaelli) and the Neapolitan.