Affentheater: Italian Itinerant Migration around Europe between Nineteenth and - AEMI
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‘Affentheater: Italian Itinerant Migration
around Europe between Nineteenth and
Twentieth Century’i
Francesca Goglino and Carlo Stiaccini
From farmer to commedianti. in some cases entire families, left their
From Mount Pelpi to the world. homes to start ambulant jobs of differ-
The phenomenon of ‘itinerant migra- ent natures - initially these people did
tion’ started taking place on the moun- it inside the borders of Italy, later they
tain range dividing Emilia Romagna emigrated to Europe and to other con-
from Liguria during the modern age, tinents - from that of the ambulant arti-
and it blossomed specifically on the ter- san to colportage1 and in some cases they
ritories of Alta Val di Taro between the were becoming real beggars.
provinces of Parma and Genoa. From The work of commedianti was origi-
these areas, young and old men, and nated in the area among the municipal-
ity of Bardi, Bedonia and Compiano
FRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 75 and more specifically in the burg around this subject, as a matter of fact, comes Mount Pelpi. Their work consisted in out from the studies of Marco Porcella, training exotic and ordinary animals - a local history researcher and expert dogs, goats, horses, parrots, monkeys, in migration from Liguria during the camels and bears - in order to guide modern age4: examining different kind them during street performances. This of sources - materials coming both from is the reason because one of the many public and private archives - he has ana- names used to label the wanderers com- lyzed deeply this topic in a book titled ing from this area was ‘pelpini’, a name Con arte e con inganno. L’emigrazione with which the ambulant artists from girovaga nell’Appenino ligure-emiliano5, Val di Taro probably wanted to reclaim and in other books dealing more generi- their common geographical origin. cally with the migratory issue6. Orsanti or scimmianti2 (other names It is important to notice how, inside used to label habitants from this area) the monumental work of synthesis Sto- started getting so specialized in this kind ria dell’emigrazione italiana - a text in of art that subsequently they reached the which, as underlined by the same cura- most remote regions of Europe to come tors and editors , ‘the declared intent was back home just every three or four years. to synthesize the whole phenomenon of Some of them managed to organize Italian migration abroad with a rigor- companies of several men and arrived ous and accessible language but with to own real circuses. Some of these com- an authentically divulgative spirit’ - an medianti raised considerable amount of essay written by Porcella was included, money and generation after generation covering emigration during the first half they kept reinvesting their profits in this of nineteenth century, in which he also singular job, that in the eyes of many speaks about animal trainers7. still looked like nothing but an alterna- Among the most recent studies, a text tive to poverty. must be mentioned written by Giuliano That of the animal trainer is nothing Mortali and Corrado Truffelli, who are but an aspect of the wider phenomenon respectively a ‘researcher and a local of ambulant jobs of which we already memories collector’ and a lecturer of have many examples during the mod- economic-geography, authors of other ern age. This ambulant phenomenon works dedicated to other aspects of invested many other municipalities on migrations related to their territories. the Apennine range going from Genoa This book covers the history of migra- to Tuscany. tion of Val di Taro and Val di Ceno. It The case of orsanti has found just a starts with the emigrations of these Ap- small place in the great number of stud- enninic populations from the modern ies generically dealing with the phenom- age, and then tackles about the seasonal, enon of wanderers on a national scale3; then wandering and finally permanent it has been mainly debated by non-aca- emigration of the nineteenth century. demic researchers like local history ex- They also wrote about the intense phe- perts, geographers and simple amateur nomenon of depopulation that touched historians. The main works covering these areas during the twentieth century.
76 AEMI JOURNAL 2010 Every chapter examines the different bulant musicians during the nineteenth aspects - economic, social or cultural - century, putting the accent on the nu- that characterized these movements that merous aspects of exploitation of ‘child could have happened on a small, me- labour’. This text is quite useful since dium or long lapse of time. They have it faces the adversities encountered by used different kind of sources: from oral thousands of minors around Europe to written memories, from materials and America (above all ambulant musi- found in public archives to that found cians, but also itinerant sellers of plaster in private ones8. figurines, chimney sweepers, animal ex- It may be helpful to read the work by posers...), and offers a good panoramic Marco Ascari, that consists in a research view of the socio-economical conditions largely based on the documents depos- of Val di Taro during the nineteenth ited in the State Archive of Parma, above century. Beside that, it represents an in- all on those contained in the ‘Diparti- teresting attempt to reconstruct the ori- mento Affari Esteri’ fund that contains gins of emigration in that area and those the memories of the diplomatic rela- of the work of animal exposers10. tions between the different offices and That of wanderers is an ancient ‘long- organs of the State9. period phenomenon’ and was not often Earlier to these works is the book that geographically restricted; as a mat- of John Zucchi ‘The Little Slaves of the ter of fact we encounter exhibitors of Harp’, published in Montreal in 1992, animals, buskers, sellers of ink, sellers that dealing with the activity of the am- of images made out of chalk, and sim-
FRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 77 ple beggars scattered all over Europe. hypotheses some paths followed by For what concerns European capitals, people from the Parmesan mountains researchers locate this phenomenon brought them to north-east reaching around the sixteenth century. With the Russia, later they passed from Turkey outbreak of the First World War and and north Africa, then they came back with the consequential frontier restric- to Europe through Spain and France tions, a sensible decrease in temporary and finally they returned back to Italy; migrations occurs. Some documents this exchange of information, through show that the activities of commedianti which they have learnt this profession, didn’t stop also during and right after probably happened when they touched the end of the First World War with a the major capitals. ‘ray of action’ drastically reduced: since What is behind the origin of this mi- they couldn’t cross the borders, habit- gratory phenomenon? There are many ants from Val di Taro have kept propos- hypotheses regarding its cause, for some ing their exhibitions just in Italy. geographers the basic reason of this mi- That of wanderers can be labeled as gration has to be found in the environ- a ‘mass phenomenon’ ante litteram on mental causes linked to territory, as a a local scale, as a matter of fact it con- matter of fact a series of landslides have cerned entire villages and communi- been recorded on Mount Pelpi around ties: official statistics say that from a the end of the fourteenth century and fifth to a third of the whole population this natural disaster probably forced has been directly invested by this proc- people to move in order to get a better ess. For example in Fontanabonardi - a living. These authors have found a justi- small municipality next to Bedonia, one fication to their thesis in the data stored of the villages with the biggest density in the State Archives of Parma. Accord- of commedianti - among the 84 families ing to this theory the farther we move reported in the 1768 census, the request from the epicenter of the landslide, the for 71 passports, 52 of which have been less we find people asking for a passport given to companies or single animal ex- to cross the borders of the then Ducato hibitors, has been recorded. We are still di Parma. Realistically speaking, this is speaking about mountain communities just one of the many possible theories and, as shown later, they were far from that, if considered alone, could bring being so ‘isolated’ or so ‘sedentary’ as forth a too deterministic point of view. conventionally asserted by a big portion More realistically this is probably one of of our recent historiography. the causes being strictly linked to other Where did these people learn these explanations. professions and above all how to train To address the migration of these exotic animals like bears, camels, mon- population simply to the need for sub- keys and parrots? Many hypotheses have sistence would be oversimplified or, been made: according to some theories, even worse, wrong. Without any doubt during their many peregrinations, local poverty is the main cause of migration, shepherds have met artists who taught but beyond this conclusion it doesn’t them how to do it11. According to other necessarily implies that low income and
78 AEMI JOURNAL 2010 migratory index follow a parallel path, Animal trainers could have been la- and it does not signify that the socially beled orsanti, scimmianti etc. according marginalizing activities like the wander- to their specialization. We encounter an ing ones are quite characteristic of the incredible array of trained animals: from most miserable communities: in the mi- white mice to squirrels, from goats to gration choices, several non-economic stags, from dogs to monkeys, from cam- factors that can be defined as ‘cultural’ els to bears. Quite often these animals have a considerable weight, of which we had been bought abroad (as monkeys still don’t know that much12. Analyzing that were coming from Spain) and sub- some documents contained in the Com- sequently trained in Val di Taro by locals, munal Archive of Bardi, and confront- in this way many habitants of the area ing them with the migration data from turned in professional trainers: once the the same period, we can also agree on animal was trained, the habitants sold it the fact that the choice to migrate didn’t to a company. The training phase, above automatically coincide with a miserable all that of bears, started when animals life condition. Besides that, we just need were still really young, it didn’t take less to think that in the same Valley di Taro than a month and required a praxis as only five commons out of eleven (Bardi, ingenious as cruel. Bedonia, Compiano, Comolo) had Considering the high price of animals, been interested by the commedia phe- quite often buying and selling was fil- nomenon and not exactly for the fact tered by mediators, as the famous Rossi that they were the poorest13. from Compiano, who - at the beginning
FRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 79 of nineteenth century – monopolized the Dallara family we can assume that the animal trade between Africa and in forty years (between the seventies of Parmesan Apennine15. Those who didn’t nineteenth century and 1914) the com- want to adopt this method could choose pany of Bernardo Dallara crossed mainly to buy the animal together with other a couple of regions of the Germanic em- wandering artists to successively divide pire (Bavaria and Baden-Wurttenberg) the income in four parts15. and five of the Austro-Hungarian em- The transport and the exhibition pire (south and north Austria, Carinzia, of beasts like bears could represent a Stiria, Slovenia), touching just shortly strong effort: it was not so rare to see Italy, Swiss, Croatia and Bosnia Erze- orsanti associating in companies, that’s govina16. We can presume that wander- an embryonic form of equestrian circus. ers were traveling very fast and that they Even though companies of many sorts were not stopping in every town that ap- were created, their basic profile required pears in the stamps on the documents, the presence of some specific elements: but they were probably headed directly a titular role, addressed to take care of in those towns where they were sure the bear; a scimmiante that had to take they would have gained a good amount care of at least four monkeys; a tambour of money. Probably, then, these compa- player, necessary to get the attention of nies knew quite well the territories they the audience; a younger boy (a boy or crossed - reinforced by their customary a servant) that had to take care of the route. The towns where they used to do begging at the end of the show. Often shows were quite often small and not this kind of company was also equipped that populated: no big town and no me- with a wagon hauled from a horse. In tropolis was included in their itineraries. the quite common case in which we also That had to do with the fact these specta- had a camel or dogs, some other mem- cles, for their nature, were more suitable bers (in charge of these additional ani- for big and dusty squares of small coun- mals) would have joined the company. try villages, much more than to crowded Half of the proceeds had to go to the urban streets: big animals could create partners, half of it had to cover the ex- problems, wagon could have hampered penses. Often in autumn, the company the traffic flow and, perhaps, it is not took a break from touring and recover- properly wrong to imagine that the ing animals in a stall. While waiting for urban audience was more disenchanted the spring, two members of the com- and was probably wishing to see more pany went back home while the others articulated, mundane and ‘modern’ remained there with the animals. shows. For what concerns the criteria of The trajectories followed by the com- the migration we have two tendencies. panies coming from Val di Taro, were One ‘pioneer’ was testing a new area and preventively planned and not casual. according to his indications his relatives, The pre-established destinations were friends and countrymen decided if they quite often the same, for example, from had to follow his itinerary: it let us know the lecture of the ‘carnet’ (a sort of ‘travel as the news concerning the journey and register/permit register’) belonged to the habits of wanderers were known by
80 AEMI JOURNAL 2010 their countrymen. Once decided which necessary documents to expatriate with- were the best routes, generation after out the agreement of their husbands, generation the families tended to follow that in many cases were unavoidable: in the trajectories of their forerunners. these cases they were forced to ask for Usually wives, especially if old or in an allowance to the authority, obviously need of taking care of small kids or fam- male, that was substituting the chief of ily fields, remained back home. Many the family, a praxis that often was not commedianti, mostly during nineteenth bringing forth a positive response. Any- century, resulted being born abroad: how, it all must be said without forget- it probably means their mothers were ting that frequently, when the ‘husbands pregnant women that crossed the border and the fathers’ were abroad the respec- following their husbands since young tive ‘wives and daughters’ had to take women doing ambulant works ‘by care of the farming activities at the vil- themselves’ were accused of malpractice. lage of where they came from and man- The strong patriarchal tradition diffused aged to do it quite well. in these areas and also the laws, quite Governments from the ancien regime often has kept women far from eman- on, adopted liberal politics for what re- cipation by denying the possibility to gards wandering migrations, that while see the recognition of certain rights or respecting national and international more simply of some needs. Wives, ac- laws. Ducati di Parma and Piacenza in cording to the laws, couldn’t obtain the particular never opposed firmly to the
FRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 81
emigration of his ambulant people, alone this fluctuant mass was estimated
being unable to take care of the needs around 4-5000 people. Prefects were
of his ‘mountain people’; as a matter of charged to discover the reason of a de-
fact they were afraid that - lacking the sertion of these proportions and the re-
primary resources in the place of origin ports they compiled between 1810 and
- these people would have fled down 1813 constituted the first recognition
to the valleys and into the towns of on a large scale of temporary migrations
the ducal territory causing problems of in these areas. From this moment was
public order. What we said is shown by introduced the requirement to have a
the many expatriation permits recorded modern passport, released from the po-
at the end of eighteenth century and re- lice: for a long time it has become the
leased to every wandering artist with the only instrument of migration control
hope that the other States would have and for its own nature it has become,
been as permissive as those from which almost immediately, a ‘pertinence of the
he was coming from. That’s why in the police’19.
squares of the capital, beside parmesan
people we had people coming from Pie-
monte, Veneto, Liguria, Swiss, Germany
II. Ambulant artists’ writing.
To reconstruct the history of these peo-
and India: the animal trainers could also
ple the few researchers that studied this
come from abroad, but in these registers
subject have used both literary sources
we can see that commedianti from Val
and public archives. We can find some
di Taro that where exposing dogs, steer,
signifying comparisons by checking no-
monkeys, bears and other wild animals
tarial deed, but also documents coming
were the majority of them17.
from the police and judicial archives.
With the annexation of France in
Other interesting information can be
1801, the population from Val di Taro,
obtained when we have the luck to ana-
used for centuries to a good amount of
lyze the correspondence of wanderers
autonomy, was then forced to relate more
with their homes.
frequently with government authorities:
Thanks to some literary resources we
the temporary migratory activity had to
can find a world that had already at-
face the conscription duty imposed by
tracted the interest of the public opinion
the new emperor with the law of 13th
at the beginning of nineteenth century.
august 180218. From the general census
That’s happened for several reasons: first
based on the ‘Stati d’anime’ (a ‘family
of all for the fact in these valleys there
registry’, it was essentially an annual cen-
was a good number of polyglots that
sus conducted by parish priests) of the
attracted the curiosity of many people
churches started by the French imperial
crossing these areas; it had also been no-
government around 1805 - first census
ticed how this particular migratory form
of this kind ever done in these areas -
caused the migration of whole commu-
resulted that a considerable portion of
nities; it attracted the interest of the
the male population was draft dodger-
public opinion (not just in Italy, but also
ing because they were absent from their
in the other countries where the wan-
domicile: in the Apennine department82 AEMI JOURNAL 2010
can be found sent by wanderers to au-
thorities: one of which, written by Gio-
vanni Filiberti on the twelfth of January
1898 and (saved in the historical archive
derers were headed) in a really negative of the town hall of Bedonia) can be clas-
way, the exploitment of ‘child labour’ sified under the typology of those ‘letters
perpetrated by these wanderers. to the authorities’ to obtain permits for
Public archives are full of interesting the collection; this is another of those
documents that can be useful for our activities that, besides being judged
research work, above all in the case wan- negatively, was transferring money to
derers had problems with the justice sys- the place from where those artists come
tem. Among the documents saved in the from. Church archives represented an-
State Archive of Parma we can read the other good source of information for
memories of consuls coming from the this specific study.
embassies all over Europe, they reported For our research, we used this kind
the presence of compatriots involved in of sources, confronting them with some
ambulant-jobs performing in the streets interesting documents found in the pri-
and in the squares of the main European vate archives of those families involved
capital cities. Of great importance are in ambulant-jobs. Here we have found
also the municipal archives where letters posters, photos, passports, diaries andFRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 83 private letters. This helped us to recon- struct the life and the adventures of fam- ilies like Dallara, Taddei, Belli…etc. The analysis of documents concern- ing the families working as ‘commedi- anti’ (a good example of it could be the accidentally found documents belonged to wanderers) helped us to paint a more vivid picture of some of the families that for at least three generations have been involved physically and economically in this particular occupation. The investiga- tion on written materials to reconstruct the singular life of many protagonists helped us to consider the phenomenon from an unusual and privileged perspec- tive. Private documents and letters of these families contributed in defining, and in some cases in re-defining, the aspects of a rural society composed by farmers and small land-owners that de- veloped an intense and at the same time unusual the practice of writing20. One of these families, as we have seen, is the Dallara family from Fon- tanabonardi. They owned a company of wandering artists that included three lar job had forced him to stay away from persons, a camel, a goat, four monkeys Bedonia and from Italy for a while. We and a bear. The reconstruction of the can draw a map of the wanderings of his trajectory followed by this family (but company by the analysis of many docu- this can also be said for many other ments and in particular the entrance families from the same area) shows how and residence permits they got while these people were not following a ran- crossing different countries. We have dom path: every family was following found hundreds requests for transit and the same route. show permits; following these itinerar- Bernardo Dallara, born October 24, ies we can see that Germany and the 1854 in Fontanabonardi, has left us Austro-Hungarian area were the favorite three notebooks beside many docu- countries of this company. It is hard to ments related to his family. Owner of see a company of artists following two several farms, Bernardo has been owner times the same itinerary twice, on the and prime-mover of a small company of contrary it may happen to see them vis- wandering artists until the beginning of iting the main European cities during World War I. Several times this particu- the same periods in which these towns
84 AEMI JOURNAL 2010
without carrying animals with them, it
was due to the fact that entering in the
United States with animals was really
expensive for them, both for the cost of
the journey and for the quarantine im-
posed by the severe rules of the States.
Wandering artists with a few exceptions
preferred to move around Europe by
foot, this kind of strategy was also useful
for the fact in this way they could have
continued to do shows and so they could
have earned a living while moving.
The aforesaid notebooks owned by
the Dallara family, have been presum-
ably written between 1862 and 1935.
Chronological extremes are referred to
dates reported by the authors themselves
inside the pages of the notebooks, but it
is possible they have been corrected by
interventions after 1935.
were organizing the most important The one with more pages presents
trade-fairs and events. Often during the some characteristics common to many
aforementioned happenings this people family notebooks. As reported by the
were receiving some news concerning author himself on the first page («Ac-
their families: at the same time this was count book of Dallara Bernardo and
a good occasion to buy and sell animals family. (started in June 1889)»), the text
or the company itself. originated from the need to take care of
Bernardo Dallara used to face these family finances, but it shows immedi-
long tours with a couple of helpers that ately that the notebook is much more
were working for him: for several years than a simple account book. The first
they have been Antonio Roffi and Luigi and the last but also other pages of the
Agazzi. Among animals they were car- notebook have been written and rewrit-
rying, there was a bear, a camel, a deer, ten many times for a lot of different rea-
a domesticated goat, four monkeys and sons. The initial writing is nothing but
a horse. Mittel-European countries like the framework of a personal diary, a plu-
Germany the Austro-Hungarian empire ral and trans-generational diary where
remained Dallara’s favorite places to the Dallara family is both the sender
tour. On the other hand, other compa- and the recipient, both the context and
nies of orsanti from Bedonia during their the channel of this writing. These char-
tours were crossing Russia and the main acteristics can also be found in the fam-
middle-eastern and north-african towns. ily books21.
Some of them even went to America but Bernardo Dallara, is the principal
author of the writing, but not the onlyFRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 85 one: it looks like he meticulously noted these notebooks is almost impossible, every detail concerning his own busi- part of this uneasiness has to do with ness. Unfortunately these notebooks the fact the handwriting is not easily are not undamaged, all of them lack- decipherable and also paging sometimes ing some pages and none of them really changes all of a sudden. The confused completed or concluded. They represent cross-reference to other pages prevent a sort of collective memory (the family the author to write linearly: this proofs history of several different generations), that many different reasons brought the but also the occasion for a deep and author to write. personal reflection: in some words they The notebook someway appears to be have become a personal locus dilated. an impersonal text, but at the same time Judging from the pages left, it appears here and there it is probably meant to that the author was used to write regu- update the reader. The need to commu- larly, if not daily. Pages follow one after nicate and to have a concrete memory the other alternating different subjects aid emerges from a writing that formally and the different paging choices help is far from being correct or fluent, but the reader - and also the author - to see simultaneously expresses everything the change of topic. To read sequentially it has to communicate. Dallara’s pri-
86 AEMI JOURNAL 2010 mary need is to remember dates, facts, checked it whenever they needed and so names or administration figures but at that they could update the financial sit- the same time his words want to give uation of the company owned by their detailed information to any reader, that family. These notebooks somehow were most of the time is a member of his fam- the concrete substitute of Bernardo Dal- ily. As underlined many times by histo- lara himself for what concerned his role rian Daniel Fabre, Bernardo Dallara, in of financial administrator of the family this case was forced to write for financial business. The notebooks had a multiple reasons, shares the same kind of urgency role: that of an account book, but also of many other writers without writing that of a family book where reports of skills: he was writing ‘to remember’ the births, deaths and other important fam- past and the present22. ily facts can be found. We don’t know exactly if Dallara was Also information related to trade: Ber- bringing this notebook with him during nardo was making a deal with a share- his many peregrinations with his com- cropper, and this alone could turn it also pany. From many details we can guess he into a sort of ‘farmer’s notebook’. Some was leaving his notebook back home so pages in fact report the transcription of that his wife or his relatives could have a contract of sharecropping stipulated
FRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 87 by Dallara himself: the text apparently tion about daily life and thus easy to be looks quite simple, maybe the result of checked regulary: a source of informa- the work of many hands and it betrays tion that could be easily consulted, safe a strong oral essence, but it is useful to from getting lost. Most of the informa- testify the relationship of the landlord tion was written on the same page, but with his sharecropper. Judging from probably in different periods. From this what he has written, Bernardo Dallara analysis we get the image of a life full of was probably quite used to draw up a encounters, events and above all we get farmer’s notebook. the picture of thick web of relations, an This example introduces many facets entrepreneur’s world where writing be- related to the use of writing for those comes an indispensable work tool. classes normally not used to this kind From what emerges from the ac- of exercise. That underlines again how count book, he had four sharecroppers complex is the problem of production working for him, several bank accounts in different social classes and how re- open in the banks of Bedonia and a mote were the attempts to write chron- flourishing company of ambulant art- icles, reports, memories coming from ists: a considerable amount of money popular classes. Officially Dallara was that Dallara never esitated to lend to his registered as an ambulant artist and like acquaintances, friends and relatives, ap- many of his colleagues he was known to plying interest rates that he calls ‘frutto’. have a modest cultural upbringing. At ‘Fruits’ that increase consistently the least that is what emerged from many amount of money that, for example, of official population censuses, that tells in the Parmesan Cooperative Bank by us about a world full of illiterate and April 12th,1898, amounted to 19000 poor people. Dallara belongs to that liras. During the same years he sold ‘grey area’ in which we can include small houses and started with the construc- owners, ambulant artists with scarce tion of ‘fabbriche’23, he had a strong net writing skills but that were used to write of links with many of the habitants of on a daily basis as fully testified by the Fontanabonardi, of many close centers notebooks. Even more astonishing is the and obviously with Bedonia. A private fact that he could speak at least three writing useful to remind to the share- different languages and he was having cropper his duties and to the landlord an intense epistolary exchange with the his rights. A written agreement between other members of his family. This is not two partners that evidently didn’t have a marginal aspect of the text: it is the the same contractual weight. Dallara author himself who defines the nature imposes clearly his conditions to share- of his relationship with family, friends croppers, through writings that with the and employees. passing of time become more and more The family notebook had gradually synthetic. Through the years his writ- become a collection of information, a ings tended to resemble a scheme and real unintentional portrait of the late to leave the shape of an oral agreement, ‘800 rural society and consequentially it here Dallara reported data and numbers also became a recollection of informa- referred by the tenant farmers.
88 AEMI JOURNAL 2010
We can also read about orsanti and the Notes
relation that linked Dallara to the own- i
From peasants to commedianti. From Mount
ers of other wandering artists’s compa- Pelpi to the world is written by Francesca Go-
glino; Ambulant artists’ writing is by Carlo Sti-
nies. If with the tenant farmers Dallara accini. English translations by Andrea Ferraris.
showed openly his dominant position, 1 Colportage is the work of ‘colporteur’, French
with his colleagues of other companies alteration of Old French ‘comporteur’, from
the relation was characterized by a mu- ‘comporter’ that means ‘to conduct, to peddle’,
tual respect. Unfortunately many of influenced through folk etymology by ‘porter
these pages got irremediably lost, some à col’, to carry on one’s neck.
2 These terms that derived from the Italian
have been erased by the author himself, words ‘orso’ (bear) and ‘scimmia’ (monkey).
some other pages have been torn from 3 The work of Piero Camporesi, published for
the notebooks later. From the pages the first time in 1973, has been pioneeristic in
left we can however rebuild the events this field: Piero Camporesi (cured by), Il libro
linked to this difficult work. Dallara was dei vagabondi. Lo ‘Speculum cerretanorum’ di
Teseo Pini, ‘Il vagabondo’ di Rafaele Frianoro
probably used to trade animals and the e altri testi di ‘furfanteria’, Milano: Garzanti,
equipment for the exhibition with other 2003.
companies and was doing it on a regular 4 On this subject: Marco Porcella, La fatica
basis. Some writings report an intense e la Merica, Genova: Sagep editrice, 1986 e
correspondence that anticipated of by Marco Porcella, Maggiolungo, Genova: Sagep
several weeks the meeting of different editrice, 1996.
5 Marco Porcella, Con arte e con inganno.
companies in some of the most impor- L’emigrazione girovaga nell’Appennino ligure
tant European capitals. emiliano, Genova: Sagep editrice, 1998.
Another interesting conclusion is that 6 ‘Premesse dell’emigrazione di massa in età
Dallara was alternating text written to prestatistica (1800-1850)’, in: Piero Bevilac-
be read by somebody else to notes and qua, Andreina De Clementi, Emilio Franzina
(cured by), Storia dell’emigrazione italiana. I:
text that were probably addressed to Partenze, Roma: Donzelli editore, 2001, pages
himself, administrative data mixed with 17-44; ‘Da girovaghi a emigranti. Lettere da
some other current events of the time Filadelfia 1826-1831’, in: Piero Conti, Giu-
that were hardly comprehensible for liana Franchini, Antonio Gibelli, Storie di gente
somebody who had not lived those oc- comune nell’Archivio Ligure di Scrittura Popo-
currences. All of these texts are open to lare, Università degli Studi di Genova, Acqui
Terme (Alessandria): Editrice Impressioni
many interpretations since they show us Grafiche, 2002, pages 15-47; ‘Da birbanti a
a beautiful but complex world in which emigranti. Itinerari della povertà contadina’,
the members of the Dallara family have in: Antonio Gibelli, La Via delle Americhe,
been able to move. Writing here be- Genova: Sagep Editrice, 1989, pages 37-42.
comes a magnifying lens on the subjec- 7 BEVILACQUA, DE CLEMENTI, FRAN-
ZINA 2001, pages 17-44.
tive history of many men and women 8 Giuliano Mortali, Corrado Truffelli, Per pro-
who lived through these complex and cacciarsi il vitto. L’emigrazione delle valli del
controversial times; their history testifies Taro e del Ceno dall’ancien régime al Regno
how the experience of these wandering d’Italia, Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis,
people was much more than mere art of 2005.
surviving. 9 Marco Ascari, L’Emigrazione girovaga par-
mense a metà Ottocento (merciai, orsanti,FRANCESCA GOGLINO AND CARLO STIACCINI 89
organettisti), Noceto (Parma): Millenium I quaderni di famiglia dell’Appennino ligure-
Editrice, 2006. emiliano’, in: Antonio Castillo Gòmez e Ve-
10 John E. Zucchi, The Little Slaves of the rònica Sierra Blas, El legado de Mnemosyne.
Harp. Italian Child Street Musicians in Nine- Las escrituras del yo a través del tiempo, Gijiòn
teenth-Century Paris, London and New York, (Asturia): Ediciones Trea, S.L., 2007.
Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 21 For an exhaustive definition of these ‘family books’
1992. see: Raul Mordenti (cured by): I libri di famiglia in
11 We’re speaking about ‘skomorokhi’, ambulant Italia. Geografia e storia, Roma: Edizioni di storia e
cantors coming from Russia. See ZUCCHI letteratura, 2001, page 15.
22 For a definition, Daniel Fabre: ‘Nove terreni di
1992. scrittura’, in Daniel Fabre (cured by): Per iscritto.
12 On this subject see PORCELLA 1998, page Antropologia delle scritture quotidiane, Lecce: Argo,
19, and also the essay of Giovanni Pizzorusso 1998, page 58 .
‘I movimenti migratori in Italia in antico re- 23 This construction probably was some sort of steer
gime’, in: BEVILACQUA, DE CLEMENTI, farmhouse used as animal retirement or a ware-
FRANZINA 2001. house for the maintenance of cheese.
13 Communal Archive of Bardi, Relazione sulla
produzione agricola del 1806; Relazione sul- References
l’annata agricola del 1808, e MAIC, Statistica Ascari, Marco, L’Emigrazione girovaga parmense
del Regno d’Italia. Popolazione, Censimento a metà Ottocento (merciai, orsanti, organettisti),
di Parma, Torino, 1862-1864. Noceto (Parma): Millenium Editrice. 2006
14 Rossi appears in London around 1833. See: Bevilacqua, Piero; de Clementi, Andreina; Fran-
Raniero Paulucci di Calboli, I girovaghi in In- zina Emilio (cured by) Storia dell’emigrazione
ghilterra ed i suonatori ambulanti, Città di Ca- italiana. I: Partenze, Roma: Donzelli editore.
stello: S. Lapi Tipografo, 1893, page 34. 2001
15 On this subjects see also: C. McFarlane, ‘Ballo Bulferretti, Luigi; Costantini, Claudio, Industria
degli orsi, Bear-Dancing, at Rome’ in: Popu- e commercio in Liguria nell’età del Risorgimento
lar Customs, Sports of Italy, London: Charles (1700-1861), Milano: Banca Commerciale
Knight & Co, 1846, pages 163-176. Italiana. 1965
16 Quaderni, 1874-1914, Dallara Fund, Archi- Camporesi, Piero (cured by) Il libro dei vaga-
vio Ligure di Scrittura Popolare, Università bondi. Lo ‘Speculum cerretanorum’ di Teseo
degli Studi di Genova - Facoltà di Lettere e Pini, ‘Il vagabondo’ di Rafaele Frianoro e altri
Filosofia - Dipartimento di Storia Moderna e testi di ‘furfanteria’, Milano: Garzanti libri
Contemporanea. S.p.a. 2003
17 State of Parma Archive, Periodo borbonico. Conti, Piero; Franchini, Giuliana; Gibelli, Anto-
Rubriche, Registri e Copialettere, Estrazione, ed nio, Storie di gente comune nell’Archivio Ligure
Introduzione di generi, e Licenze pei ciarlatani, di Scrittura Popolare, Università degli Studi di
Registri 1788-1795, n. 254-257-261-265. The Genova, Aqui Terme (Alessandria): Editrice
surnames we find inside these lists would have Impressioni Grafiche. 2002
became well known among animal exposers Fabre, Danile, ‘Nuovi terreni di scrittura’ in:
and animal trainers during the next century: Danile Fabre (cured by), Per iscritto. Antro-
Barberi, Belli, Bernabò, Berni, Bertani, Bia- pologia delle scritture quotidiane, Lecce: Argo.
sotti, Calestini, Cappellini, Caramatti, Corte, 1998
Leporati, Moglia, Rossi, Zamboni. Gibelli, Antonio, (cured by) La Via delle
18 See: Carlo Zaghi, L’Italia di Napoleone, To- Americhe, Genova: Sagep Editrice. 1989
rino: Utet, 1989. Mcfarlane C., 1‘Ballo degli orsi, Bear-Dancing,
19 See: Luigi Bulferretti, Claudio Costantini, at Rome’ in: Popular Customs, Sports of Italy,
Industria e commercio in Liguria nell’età del London: Charles Knight & Co. 1846
Risorgimento (1700-1861), Milano: Banca Mordenti, Raul, I libri di famiglia in Italia. Ge-
Commerciale Italiana, 1965, page 265. ografia e storia, Roma: Edizioni di storia e let-
20 On these subjects: Carlo Stiaccini ‘Orsanti. teratura. 200190 AEMI JOURNAL 2010 Mortali, Giuliano; Truffelli, Corrado, Per procac- ciarsi il vitto. L’emigrazione delle valli del Taro e del Ceno dall’ancien régime al Regno d’Italia, Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis. 2005 Paulucci di Calboli, Raniero, I girovaghi in Ing- hilterra ed i suonatori ambulanti, Città di Cas- tello: S. Lapi Tipografo. 1893 Porcella, Marco, La fatica e la Merica, Genova: Sagepeditrice. 1986 Maggiolungo, Genova: Sagep editrice. 1996 Con arte e con inganno. L’emigrazione girovaga nell’Appennino ligure emiliano, Genova: Sagep editrice. 1998 Stiaccini, Carlo, ‘Orsanti. I quaderni di famiglia dell’Appennino ligure-emiliano’, in: Antonio Castillo Gòmez e Verònica Sierra Blas, El legado de Mnemosyne. Las escrituras del yo a través del tiempo, Gijiòn (Asturia): Ediciones Trea, S.L. 2007 Zaghi, Carlo, L’Italia di Napoleone, Torino: Utet. 1989 Zucchi, Jhon E., The Little Slaves of the Harp. Italian Child Street Musicians in Ninteenth- Century Paris, London and New York, Mon- treal: McGill-Queen’s University Press. 1992
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