Arlecchino (Harlequin)

Born in the stagnant areas of lower Bergamo, quite the opposite of his compatriot Brighella, he shows little intellect, is stupid, greedy and credulous.

Harlequin is always dressed as a humble serf or a porter as in Carlo Goldoni’s "Servant to two Masters".

The Harlequin costume consists of a jacket and trousers made of irregularly-shaped colored material, a white felt cap occasionally with rabbit or fox fur. He always wears a belt with a wooden spatula hanging from it. He wears a black half-mask with demonic features (legend has it that the name Harlequin derives from a demon called Alichino cited by Dante Alighieri in Inferno part of the "Divine Comedy". He sometimes has a bristly moustache and eyebrows and a large nose. A typical part of the Harlequin costume is the red lump on the head.

It is an acrobatic mask with complex expressiveness: his Bergamo accent is similar to Brighella but much more complex enriched with slang sayings and other dialectical expressions.