Gianduja (; pms, Giandoja ) is one of the

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

s of the Italian

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 ...

, typically representing the town of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

(and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in general). Gianduja also became the namesake for a Piedmontese chocolate preparation. The mask depicts an honest peasant of Piedmontese country land, with a certain inclination for wine (particularly

Brachetto d'Acqui Brachetto d'Acqui (; pms, brachet d'Àich ) is a red Italian wine that is classified as a ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) since 1996 and previously a ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) region since 1969. It ...

),Italian Trade Commission '
Acqui or Brachetto d'Acqui (DOCG)
"'' Italianmade.com Accessed: March 5, 2011,

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

and beautiful girls, while strictly faithful to his lover Giacometta, who is usually represented by a cute girl.

Origins

The character is believed to have originated as ''Gironi da Crina'' (in Ligurian) or ''Geralmo della Scrofa'' (in Italian), ca. 1630 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. In the early 19th century, a puppeteer by the name of Giovanni Battista Sales got into trouble with the authorities who did not appreciate his sarcastic humor or the fact that the character had the same first name as

a brother A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, who had invaded the region. Sales fled to Callianetto, a hamlet of

Castell'Alfero Castell'Alfero ( pms, Castel Alfé) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about north of Asti. Castell'Alfero borders the following municipalities: Asti, Calliano, ...

, east of

and just north of

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...

, and changed the name of the character to the Piedmontese ''Gioann dla Doja'' (later ''Giandoja'' and Piedmontenize as ''Gianduja''), which means something like "John of the Jug" (with ''doja'' meaning "tankard" or "beer mug", as the character was fond of drinking).

Characteristics

In the

, Gianduja is a fond drinker and a very lecherous character, and Giacometta, his lover, always becomes jealous of him.The 18th Century Stock Masks
/ref> Personality-wise, he always has a happy humour. He is dressed (in the usual version) with a

tricorn hat The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though actually not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were referr ...

and a brown jacket with red borders. The character of Gianduja was created as a

glove puppet Glove puppetry () is a type of opera using cloth puppets that originated during the 17th century in Quanzhou or Zhangzhou of China's Fujian province, and historically practised in the Min Nan-speaking areas such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, the Chaosh ...

but later became a

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or reveale ...

and then a live character portrayed by an actor. He is now Turin's official "king of the

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

Influences

The character inspired the name of gianduja, a paste of chocolate and hazelnut typical of Turin.

References

{{reflist Commedia dell'arte characters Culture in Turin Fictional Italian people