Circus

Circus family in Rome

The Circus appears today as something extremely old, with an ancient flavor, almost anachronistic. Yet it is so current, being the emblem of a reality that goes beyond any frontier, multi-ethnic and globalized.
The Vassallo are a historic circus family on the Italian scene that since the 1930s has been carrying on with pride, but also with great difficulty, its history made up of bright clothes, exotic animals and traveling houses throughout Italy and most of Europe.
The lives of these artists are made up of joys and countless sacrifices: nomads par excellence, they are always looking for something without having a defined goal.
Nowadays, circus life hangs by a thread and its members move like tightrope walkers in precarious balance on an almost imperceptible rope.
Today there are approximately 100 active circuses scattered throughout the Italian territory, which hold more or less 2,000 animals and employ 65,000 people.
The current difficulties of the circus are partly linked to the gradual overcoming of the use of animals in traditional circuses like theirs. “The circus is dying because they are killing us,” the mother of one of the artists told me. And this is what the imminent disappearance of animals in circuses will lead to, to which circus families are linked by a love that goes far beyond simple utilitarianism, a love born with coexistence and grown day after day, show after show.
To this has been recently added the further economic difficulty due to the Covid-19 epidemic. It is in fact since the beginning of March that all the circus shows have been canceled.
The work I have done so far is only the first chapter of a project that I would like to expand.
My interest in the subject is completely unrelated to the intention to express a judgment on their lifestyle or on the issue of the use of animals, it is more a form of attention towards these historic families, their way of life , their past experiences and future expectations.