ZANNIS

ZANNIS - XVIII

They come from Bergamo . Regularly coarse , poor and ignorant ; ingenuous , fool and hardworking ; if they are inteligent , they are villainous and thieves . The "Zanni" represents the emigrant peasants , those who settled down in cities ; they used to be land slaves but then became servants in port-cities.
They remain attached to their culture , specially their pagan feasts and traditions , their dances , clothes and half-masks . They are wonderfully depicted in "Balli de Sfessania" J.Callotīs drawings.
From those primitive zannis they īll derive mostly of the Commedia italianaīs characters.