Chiarini's Royal Italian Circus and Performing Animals, also known as Chiarini's Circus and Menagerie or simply the Royal Italian Circus () was a renowned traveling circus company.
History
Italian-born equestrian
Giuseppe Chiarini established the international circus company as the director.
The circus first traveled across America in the mid-19th century and then started abroad. In 1855, Chiarini's Italian Circus performed in
Greenville, Ohio
Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is near Ohio's western edge, about northwest of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The population was 12,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
History
Indigenous ...
.
Chiarini began touring
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
in 1856 under the banner of the Royal Spanish Circus. He later adopted Chiarini's Royal Italian Circus, serving as the company's manager and proprietor. In 1859, a wooden circus was provisionally opened in Havana for Smith & Chiarini's equestrian troupes. In 1863, Chiarini's circus company in Havana performed at
Plaza de Armas
''Plaza de armas'' (pl. ; literally ''arms square'' or ''place-of-arms'') is a Spanish language, Spanish term commonly used to refer to town square, town squares in Latin America, Spain and the Philippines, as well as a name commonly given to th ...
. In January 1867, Chiarini's circus headed to Mexico. After an eleven-week run in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, Chiarini advertised more shows on the Californian tour in 1868, including
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
,
Stockton, and
Marysville.
The circus had left for Panama and the cities of South America by steamer in 1869.
During a visit to
Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, in January 1873, the circus company held an event. Chiarini's company landed in Melbourne in March 1873, arriving from New Zealand. On October 8, 1874, the troupe performed in
Yokohama, Japan
is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...
. In November 1879, returned to New Zealand in
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
.
In 1880, the troupe consisted of an American bison, two zebras, three full-grown Bengal tigers, three tiger cubs, eight performing dogs, over twenty well-trained horses, and six trick ponies.
Chiarini's Royal Italian Circus and Performing Animals appeared in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
in 1882. A performance in front of the
Maharajah of Johor, whose state was located directly to the north of Singapore's Crown Colony, took place on January 30, 1883.
The troupe made an appearance in
Adelaide, Australia
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, in 1884.
According to records, negotiations for the sale of Chiarini's menagerie and circus animals were underway with Chinese parties in 1889. Following a journey to Shanghai, just two elephants, twenty-three horses, fourteen ponies, two jacks, two goats, four monkeys, one brahma, and a large number of pigeons remained in the menagerie after part of it was sold.
The famed circus which travelled the world no longer existed upon Chiarini's death in 1897 in
Panama City, Panama
Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province ...
.
Gallery
Shanghai 申江勝景圖二卷.pdf, page=118, Visit of the Chiarini Circus to Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, depicted by local painter Wu Youru.
References
{{authority control
Recurring events established in 1856
Entertainment companies established in 1856
Organizations established in 1856