"One of the most unexpected meteors in the history of music". With these words, while referring to the music of the Trecento, Nino Pirrotta comments on one of the most intricate enigmas of medieval musicology: how does the Ars Nova come into being in Italy? In the almost total absence of previous written records, it historically imposes itself as a sudden bloom of colours and influences; it's origins appear unfathomable, and it's traces, after a short while, are seemingly lost amid the innovations of a new trend from the Flanders that will revolutionize the history of European music shortly after the turn of the century. The art of Francesco, Gherardello, Piero, Jacopo, and of all the other authors that breathed life in the Trecento is preserved in few but immensely relevant manuscripts: their discovery has revealed to the world a priceless musical heritage.