''La Signora'' (; an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

phrase which can be translated to "the lady" in English) is a character in

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 ...

. She is the wife of Pantalone and the mistress of

Pedrolino Pedrolino is a ''primo zanni'', or comic servant, of the ''Commedia dell'Arte''; the name is a hypocorism of ''Pedro'' (Peter), via the suffix ''-lino''. The character made its first appearance in the last quarter of the 16th century, apparently ...

. She is tough, beautiful and calculating, and wears very wide dresses along with very heavy makeup. She walks with a flick of the toe and her arms held far out to the sides of her body. La Signora could be a "courtesan" (high class

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

), but typically manages to wrangle her way into the household of an old man, usually Pantalone, where she would inevitably cuckold him. She was an older, sexually experienced

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 ...

, known as Rosaura. * Appearance: Overdresses, wearing too many jewels, flowers, feathers, and ribbons and wearing too much hair and makeup. * Physicality: Like

Il Capitano Il Capitano (, Italian for "The Captain") is one of the four stock characters of ''Commedia dell'arte.'' He most likely was never a "Captain" but rather appropriated the name for himself. He is often a braggart and a swaggerer who can maint ...

, uses excessive and big gestures. * Character Traits: Main aim is satisfaction of physical needs – more jewels, dresses and sex. She will scheme to have them assured. She has an immediate attraction to her counterpart, Il Capitano, and they must be together. However, she is married to Pantalone, and she cheats on him regularly. A common lazzo of La Signora is to have a fight with another woman, as she is very proud and often ridicules others.

Popular culture

Representations of or characters based on La Signora in contemporary popular culture include Signora from

Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo. It was released for Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows in 2020, on PlayStation 5 in 2021, and is set for release on Nintendo Switch. The game feature ...

(where she was one of the eleven Fatui Harbingers), and La Signora from the comic book series Power Man and Iron Fist, where she is a minor villain, part of the Commedia Dell'Morte.

References

Commedia dell'arte female characters Fictional courtesans Female stock characters {{Lit-char-stub