Cantautori is the Italian version of the singer-songwriters in English. The word is the blend of cantante (singer) and autore (writer).
The term also means all those who compose and then perform their own songs, the term in contemporary Italian refers to Italian popular singers, for example the musicians during the student protests of the 1960s and '70s, who wrote songs that have social or political relevance.
Bob Dylan is an American 'cantautore'. Some of the very famous cantautore in italy are Lucio Battisti, Francesco Guccini, Claudio Lolli, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, and Fabrizio De André. A few of the more recent cantautore italian artists are Samuele Bersani, Jovanotti, Daniele Silvestri, Luciano Ligabue and Vinicio Capossela.