When did Italian first appear?

Italian first emerged as a distinct language in the late 13th century, evolving from the vulgar Latin spoken in the Italian peninsula. The earliest written records of Italian can be traced back to works like the "Vita Nova" by Dante Alighieri around 1295 and later in his "Divine Comedy" (1308-1320). Over the centuries, Italian continued to develop, influenced by regional dialects and literary traditions, ultimately becoming standardized in the 16th century.