L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano W i t h F e b - r u a r y approach ing, it is n a t u r a l to think of Carnevale. Can't you smell the sweet aroma of chiacchiere and frittelle in the air? But of course, this time of the year isn't only about food, but also about the ageless tradition of dressing up in fancy costumes and tak- ing up the identity, even if for only a few hours or days, of someone else. Today, most people go for fashionable options, just like y o u d o i n t h e U S f o r H a l l o w e e n , p e r h a p s w i t h fewer horror-movie-inspired outfits but following very much the same line: in are TV and movie characters, sexy takes on popular professions and, for children, animals or cartoon characters. But until a handful of years ago, kids would often proudly walk the streets of carniva- l e s q u e I t a l y g e a r e d u p a s Pulcinella, Brighella and, sometimes, even old, moody Pantalone. But Arlecchino was the most popular one, along with another famous character of the Commedia d e l l ' A r t e c o m i n g f r o m France, Pierrot: you'd easi- ly find hoards of Arlecchinos and Pierrots running around the streets throwing corian- doli, back in the day. CHIARA D'ALESSIO G r a n t e d , t h e o l d Commedia dell'Arte' s maschere may no longer be a hit among the younger gener- ations, but they still represent an important part of our pop- ular and artistic heritage. To understand why, we need to b r i e f l y l o o k i n t o w h a t Commedia dell'Arte was and what our maschere meant for it. It was a theatrical style that developed at the begin- ning of the 16 th century in I t a l y a n d w a s t o t a k e t h e whole of Europe - France e s p e c i a l l y - b y s t o r m . Contrarily to what happened i n t r a d i t i o n a l t h e a t e r , Commedia dell'Arte had no script, but rather, narrative palimpsests, on which actors would develop the story. This was possible also thanks to another of its features, the fixed nature of its main char- acters, the maschere. Yes, b e c a u s e A r l e c c h i n o , Colombina and Balanzone, P u l c i n e l l a a n d G i a n d u j a , Stenterello and Meo Patacca, all had specific personalities, based on humanity's most common vices, quirks, weak- nesses, and strengths. This gave actors a strong structure to build creatively upon. For a style that relied so much on pre-defined characteriza- tions, Commedia dell'Arte gave immense creative free- d o m t o p e r f o r m e r s , w h o could lead stage action where they wanted, provided it all ended as it had been estab- lished, and their maschera behaved as he or she was expected to. For the first time in histo- r y , t h a n k s t o C o m m e d i a dell'Arte, actors became true professionals. The 16th and 17th cen- turies were Commedia dell' A r t e ' s g o l d e n p e r i o d a n d that's when Italy's regional maschere, the same we'd find on stage, were created: each region had its own char- a c t e r , o f t e n b a s e d o n t h e quirks considered typical of that specific area, a good- natured reminder of our own imperfections. But maschere also gave us, through their Commedia dell'Arte stories a n d a d v e n t u r e s , a w a y t o cope with the harshness of life, which they always faced with a smile and some fatalis- tic aplomb. S o w i d e s p r e a d w a s t h e popularity of maschere, that every little village in Italy would have their own, proud Pulcinella, probably the most famous of all maschere (Photo: BlackMac/Dreamstime) A journey through Italy in fifteen maschere di Carnevale Continued to page 22 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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