Marin Držić's comedy Dundo Maroje is associated with 1551 and the theatre of the Republic of Ragusa, now Dubrovnik. The play used farce, disguise and mercantile settings to satirise greed and social pretension. It shows a vibrant Adriatic literary culture between Italian, Slavic and Mediterranean worlds.

Držić brought urban speech and comic improvisation into South Slavic Renaissance drama. His work illuminates a lively theatrical tradition often overshadowed by Italian and English stages.