Caterina Biancolelli (1665–1716) was an Italian actress in the ''

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

'' style of theater. She was one of the earliest actresses to play the role of

Colombina Columbina (in Italian Colombina, meaning "little dove"; in French and English Colombine) is a stock character in the ''commedia dell'arte''. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot. Rudli ...

, and one of the most famous. Biancolelli was the daughter of actors Domenico Biancolelli (1636-1688), who was famous for playing

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

, and Orsola Cortesi (1637-1718), who played an innamorata named Eularia. Her grandmother was the actress Isabella Franchini Biancolelli, who had also played Colombina. Caterina Biancolelli and her family were members of the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne or Théâtre-Italien are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were commedia dell'arte companies employed b ...

troupe ''Ancienne Troupe de la Comedia Italienne'', which performed in France. Caterina Biancolelli began playing Colombina in her family's troupe in 1683. In that same year, she and the rest of the troupe received positive reviews from Donneau de Visé in the journal '' Le mercure galant''. In 1695, she played Arlecchina, a female version of Harlequin, in ''Le Retour de la foire de Bezons'' by Evaristo Gherardi. Along with acting, she was known for her singing, dancing, and musical talents. Her acting career ended when Italian theater in Paris was closed in 1697 and she refused to join the French theater.

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