Star Formation in the Local Universe

We present preliminary results of a long-term study aimed at answering a number of open questions on the evolution of starbursts in local galaxies. The project employes mainly HST data from the ultraviolet to the red of the stellar continuum and of the nebular emission from the galaxies. Here we concentrate on NGC5253 and NGC5236 (M83), that form a dwarf--massive galaxy pair at about 4 Mpc distance. The recent star formation history of the centers of the two galaxies is investigated in order to identify similarities and differences in the evolution of their central starbursts.