Goodbye to the father of the studies circus
E 'failed yesterday Mario Verdone, dean of Italian historical spectacle, and the world of the circus one of the fathers of historiography in the field worldwide. He was born in 1917. If
was especially famous for its introduction in Italy of cinema studies in academia, or for his writings on avant-garde and futurism, the circus world owes him the historical legitimacy. His passion led him to attend the greatest circuses and artists of the century, until it became co-founder, in the '50s, the legendary Union des Historiens du Cirque, which connected the greatest scholars in the world with major research and exchange leaving precious materials. And 'thanks to him, among other things, that Fellini went deep into the world of track for the preparation of the film "The Clowns".
In his books and articles, in his lectures, Mario had always pursued a bold thesis: the circus as a source of all arts. He had shown the decisive influence on the origins of the theater and above all of cinema. He leaves us a precious variety of sources, including the magnificent book "Entertainment Romano", the history circus in Rome through the centuries.
His last public event was the academic conference at the Sapienza University in Rome to present our volume "History of the Circus," a gift that will always be honored.
Mario we miss her cute laugh, the childlike enthusiasm for the shows, the lightness disenchanted and amused (as opposed to the severity of the many "scholars"), the discriminating taste for the arts and ironic without extremism and ideology: all of this on the solid foundations of a culture as vast rigorous, which gave way to put the many objects of his studies (illusionism from poetry, painting to drama) in broader contexts.
Farewell Mario: even if you've had the good fortune of a very long life and in full awareness, we're gone too soon. But leave us a lot: Thanks!
was especially famous for its introduction in Italy of cinema studies in academia, or for his writings on avant-garde and futurism, the circus world owes him the historical legitimacy. His passion led him to attend the greatest circuses and artists of the century, until it became co-founder, in the '50s, the legendary Union des Historiens du Cirque, which connected the greatest scholars in the world with major research and exchange leaving precious materials. And 'thanks to him, among other things, that Fellini went deep into the world of track for the preparation of the film "The Clowns".
In his books and articles, in his lectures, Mario had always pursued a bold thesis: the circus as a source of all arts. He had shown the decisive influence on the origins of the theater and above all of cinema. He leaves us a precious variety of sources, including the magnificent book "Entertainment Romano", the history circus in Rome through the centuries.
His last public event was the academic conference at the Sapienza University in Rome to present our volume "History of the Circus," a gift that will always be honored.
Mario we miss her cute laugh, the childlike enthusiasm for the shows, the lightness disenchanted and amused (as opposed to the severity of the many "scholars"), the discriminating taste for the arts and ironic without extremism and ideology: all of this on the solid foundations of a culture as vast rigorous, which gave way to put the many objects of his studies (illusionism from poetry, painting to drama) in broader contexts.
Farewell Mario: even if you've had the good fortune of a very long life and in full awareness, we're gone too soon. But leave us a lot: Thanks!
