Typical editions of the work (published by Il Mulino) are structured into several key sections:

Born in 1934, Alberto Varvaro was an Italian scholar who dedicated his academic career to the study of medieval Romance literatures. With a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the historical context, Varvaro produced numerous influential works on the subject. His expertise spanned various aspects of medieval literature, including language, literature, and culture. Varvaro's scholarship was marked by a commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, combining philology, linguistics, and literary analysis to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the medieval world.

Despite its rigorous theoretical grounding, the prose remains clear. Examples are given in the original Romance languages with Italian translation or paraphrase.

Varvaro’s work stands out for several reasons: