Scrivendo la citazione in corsivo, Marta evita di usare troppe virgolette.

Scrivendo is the gerund of scrivere.

In this sentence, it means something like:

• by writing
• while writing
• when writing

Here the most natural idea is by writing the quotation in italics. So the gerund is showing the means Marta uses to avoid too many quotation marks.

Form:

• scrivere = to write
• scrivendo = writing / by writing

The subject is Marta.

In Italian, when a sentence starts with a gerund phrase like Scrivendo la citazione in corsivo, the subject is normally understood to be the same as the subject of the main verb.

So this sentence means that Marta is:

• writing the quotation in italics
• and, by doing that, avoiding too many quotation marks

It would sound wrong if one person were doing the scrivendo action and someone else were doing the evita action, unless Italian made that explicit.

Grammatically, it could suggest several ideas, because the Italian gerund is flexible. It can express:

• time: while writing
• manner: writing in this way
• means: by writing
• sometimes even cause

In this sentence, the best interpretation is means:

By writing the quotation in italics, Marta avoids using too many quotation marks.

That is the most logical reading, because writing in italics is the method she uses to avoid the quotation marks.

The comma separates the introductory gerund phrase from the main clause:

• Scrivendo la citazione in corsivo,
• Marta evita di usare troppe virgolette.

This is very common in both Italian and English. It helps the reader see that the first part gives the circumstance or method, and the second part gives the main action.

Without the comma, the sentence would still be understandable, but the comma is the normal and clearer choice.

In corsivo is the normal idiomatic expression meaning in italics or in italic type.

So:

• scrivere in corsivo = to write in italics

Italian often uses in + noun/adjective-like form for text formatting:

• in corsivo = in italics
• in grassetto = in bold

A form like corsivamente would sound unusual here. Even if it is theoretically understandable, it is not the normal way to talk about typography.

Not exactly.

Citazione can sometimes correspond to English citation, but in this sentence it clearly means quotation or quoted passage.

That is because the sentence also mentions:

• corsivo = italics
• virgolette = quotation marks

So we are clearly talking about a piece of text being quoted, not a bibliographic reference.

This is a useful false-friend warning:

• citazione can mean quotation
• it can also mean citation, depending on context

After evitare, Italian very commonly uses di + infinitive when the next idea is an action.

So:

• evitare di usare = to avoid using
• evitare di dire = to avoid saying
• evitare di fare = to avoid doing

This is the safest and most standard pattern for learners to use.

In this sentence:

• evita = she avoids
• di usare = using / to use

Together:

• evita di usare troppe virgolette = she avoids using too many quotation marks

Because virgolette means quotation marks, and quotation marks normally come as a pair.

So Italian usually talks about them in the plural:

• le virgolette = quotation marks

Even when referring to the punctuation in a general way, Italian still commonly uses the plural.

Also, troppe virgolette means too many quotation marks, not just many quotation marks. The idea is that italics can replace some of the need for quotation marks, making the text look less cluttered.

Italian uses the definite article more often than English does.

Here la citazione most naturally means:

• the quotation
• the specific quotation being discussed or written

English might sometimes say a quotation depending on context, but Italian often prefers the definite article when the thing is identifiable from the situation.

So la citazione does not sound strange in Italian, even if English might choose a different article in some contexts.

Yes. Italian word order is flexible.

For example, you could also say:

• Marta evita di usare troppe virgolette scrivendo la citazione in corsivo.

This is understandable, but the original version sounds very natural because the gerund phrase comes first and immediately presents the method.

Starting with Scrivendo la citazione in corsivo gives the sentence a clear structure:

1. method
2. result

That is why the original order works well.

Yes. For example, you might also hear:

• Mettendo la citazione in corsivo, Marta evita di usare troppe virgolette.

That means something like:

• By putting the quotation in italics, Marta avoids using too many quotation marks.

The difference is small:

• scrivendo ... in corsivo focuses on the act of writing it in italics
• mettendo ... in corsivo focuses on formatting or setting it in italics

Both are natural, but the original sentence is perfectly good and idiomatic.