The Fratellini family was a famous European

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

family in the late 1910s and 1920s. An engagement at the

Circus Medrano The Cirque Medrano (in English: Circus Medrano) is a French circus that was located at 63 Boulevard de Rochechouart, at the corner of rue des Martyrs, in the 18th arrondissement at the edge of Montmartre in Paris. It was originally called Cirque F ...

in Paris, France, after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was so successful that it sparked a strong resurgence of interest in the circus. By 1923, the Fratellini brothers had become the darlings of the Parisian intellectuals. They were lauded in print and worshiped by adoring fans who would show up at the circus just in time for the Fratellini entree, which sometimes ran as long as forty-five minutes. The Fratellini's success has been attributed to many factors, but above all they succeeded because of their talent and experience. The Fratellini brothers were: * Paul Fratellini (1877–1940) * François Fratellini (1879–1951) poetic clown * Albert Fratellini (1886–1961), very wild, and crazy Their father, Gustavo Fratellini (1842–1905), was an Italian patriot rebel, along with Giuseppe Garibaldi. Gustavo Fratellini took part in the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

. Some of the family later settled in France. Other members of the family include: *

Annie Fratellini Annie Violette Fratellini (14 November 1932 – 1 July 1997) was a French circus artist, singer, film actress and clown. Biography She was born Annie Violette Fratellini on 14 November 1932, in Algiers, French Algeria, where her parents, who w ...

(1932–1997)

External links

Fratellini Family
in the

Encyclopædia Britannica Online An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...

Fratellini Academy: the higher education of circus arts
Italian clowns French clowns Italian families French families Circus families {{Entertainer-stub