Amateur, scholarly, typically with a 5-act structure, following the "classical pattern" of exposition (protasis), complication (epitasis), resolution (catastrophe); commedia erudita utilized a small cast, and followed the unities of time, place, and action. It was the diversion of the well-educated as contrasted with the commedia dell 'Arte, or professional, improvised comedy. It's most notable practitioners were:

Londovico Ariosto (1474-1533) was born in Reggio, in Lombardy, son of Niccolo Ariosto who was commander of the local citadel. Niccolo forced his son to study the law against his wishes. When Lodovico was free to do as he pleased, he studied classics with Gregorio de Spoleto from whom he learned Latin. Gregorio soon left for Paris, so Lodovico was denied the opportunity to study Greek since shortly after this his father died, leaving Lodovico to manage family matters including the support of his nine siblings, one of whom was crippled. He managed to compose some prose comedies and some lyrical poetry that gained him the meager patronage of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, brother of the Duke of Ferrara (who was married to Lucrezia Borgia). The niggardly ways of the Cardinal soon drove Ariosto into the service of the more generous Alphonso I, Duke of Ferrara. The Duke sent him on several ill-fated diplomatic missions-on one he caught consumption and on another the Pope nearly had him executed. He was eventually appointed provincial governor of Garfagnana in the Appenines. On his retirement, he married his mistress of fourteen year and wrote comedies whose performance he oversaw. He also helped build a theatre in Ferrara and edited his best known work, the romantic epic poem, "Orland Furioso."

Ariosto penned five commedia erudita:
1) La cassaria (The Casket, The Chest, The Strong Box) 1508, the first vernacular comedy performed at court in Italy, and is considered the true beginning of learned comedy.
2) I suppositi (The Pretenders, The Counterfeits) 1509, satirized customs officials
3) The Charlatan
4) The Students
5) La Iama (The Bawd) 1528, satirized minor municipal officials and skillfully paints the daily life of Ferrara

Niccolo Machiavelli (1496-1527) is best known today as the author of Il principe (The Prince), his super-cynical treatise on the art of amoral state-craft. He also wrote the most often performed and perhaps the best Italian renaissance comedy, La mandragola (The Mandrake, 1520). The story centers on literally everyone's (including a remarkably pragmatic-in the sense of amoral-priest) attempt to seduce a virtuous wife into adultery for the sake of the sport of ruining her. It is truly shocking, as opposed to merely sensational, even today.

Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) "the scourge of Princes," wrote five commedia erudite satirizing the corruption of Italian society. He focused not on the classical form, but on the content. His targets include:
1) the Papal court in The Courtesan 1526
2) the court of Mantua in The Marshal 1526
3) the world of the grande horizontale in la Talanta 1534
He also injected a strong romantic element into The Hypocrite that further led to the development of commedia erudita away from the he strictly classical models…

Angelo Beolco "Il Ruzzante" ("Gossip") (c. 1501-1542) was called "actor, writer, philosopher, poet." He is regarded as a seminal influence, an "Italian Shakespeare." His troupe flourished in Venice from 1520. His personal forte was apparently pantomime and he often wore a mask. In 1528, he wrote a comedy in prose in which each character spoke in a different dialect. (See Mortier, Alfred: Ruzzante, J. Peyronney, Paris, 1925.)

He provides a bridge to commedia dell'Arte
1) allowed his actors to improvise
2) used dialects for comedic effect (esp Tuscan, Paduan, Venetian)
3) used local types, eg. Tonin a Bergamasque servant (Zanni)
4) emphasized pantomime and physical action
5) used stock situations that were repeated in several of his twelve plays

Best examples: Parlamento de Ruzzante (Congress of Ruzzante c. 1527)