Cover from the book

 

In december has been published in Italy a new book about the history of the Italian circus families. This research, lasting more than ten years, consents to recreate not only life and professional activity of more than 266 Italian circus families, but even the origin and the evolution of different dynasties. For each family an introductory index-card recurs as short report with the main historical and artistic references. The dynasty origin an evolution is chronologically recreated from the family founder to the last generation, with documentation to 1990 included. Every index-card is completed by the relevant family tree. In the book an appendix glossary is included to explain the circus jargon and the principal technical terms relating to scenes, equipment and structures. The iconographic support is of particular importance with  artists are photographed during their exhibition, deceased artists or recent photos: a great deal of photos among which 130 have been chosen for this publication.

 

With their research Alessandra Litta Modignani and Sandra Mantovani contribute to the cognition of the Italian circus and place their investigation as the fundamental and indispensable base for any eventual further investigation on the circus world.

The research withholds (denies) the romantic and mildly anecdotal approach; it strictly attains on events of our families of the circus as, in the first place, described by the protagonists themselves (tens and tens of interviews), completed with necessary documentary integrations.

 

The result is the first (certainly not exhaustive) outline of the events of our circus artists and a collection of news certainly not otherwise available (in such a wide way) on the many circus specialities, many of which nowadays are no more practiced.

We hope that this effort (really wearing) will be able to encourage, as reverence work, further researches and studies.

 

How to order the book:

To know the exact price for the different European countries, please, contact Mrs. Alessandra Litta Modignani at her e-mail address (alessandralitta@trentino.net).  

 

 

FFront