VILLOTA

plural Villote, type of 16th-century Italian secular song similar to the villenella but having its origins in folk music. The villota has no structural uniformity and usually weaves a popular or street song into its poeticmusical fabric. Clearly, it was meant to be entertaining, with nonsense syllables in the text (which might also be of a bawdy nature) and a dancelike rhythm. Frequently, the longer and more complex villote will conclude with a separate section, called a nio, which acts as a refrain and is set off from the main part (or verse) by its faster tempo and occasionally, contrasting metre. Villote often reveal their local origin, either by means of a dialect employed or by regional identifications, as in villote alla paduana (Padua), alla veneziana (Venice), or alla mantovana (Mantua).