I have been a fan of the commedia dell'arte for over 50 years. At 16, amed with a book on the…read morecommedia dell'arte characters and a bucket of papier mâché, I made my first attempt at rendering Arlecchino, Pantalone, and the Capitano. More than 50 years later-- years that included a PhD dissertation touching upon aspects of the commedia-- I still remember the magic of meeting those characters for the first time, and beginning to understand the nature of the commedia dell'arte as a mirror of humanity.
So stumbling across Carlo Setti's La Pietra Filosofale one summer Sunday morning in 2007 was a high point for me. San Marco square was almost empty, the whole city was quiet, all the shops were closed.... except for one, situated at the end of a long alley just before a bridge. I couldn't believe what I saw in that window. It was teeming with masks. Not the flashy, commercial, touristy masks one sees all over Venice, but instead the "real thing"-- genuine leather theatre masks, all my old friends from the commedia dell'arte. Even better, the door to the shop was open and inside it was the mask maker himself, patiently hammering a new mask into shape.
I went inside, looked around, and tried to apologize in my non-existent Italian for disturbing him. He smiled, let me try a few more times, and then invited me in perfect English to look around as long as I liked. A few more minutes made it clear that I was a serious commedia dell'arte groupie, and Mr. Setti was kind enough to stop work and help me choose a mask-- a process that turned out to be a serious exploration of the soul. I was determined to leave with Arlecchino but instead, much to my surprise, the mask that spoke to me most was Pulcinella and it was he who came with me as a ran to catch my train. I thought I would never return to Venice and I felt so lucky and grateful for the accidental discoveries of what I believed were my last hours there.
But life is full of accidents. In 2010 I returned to the city, this time with a group of students in tow, all of whom had been met my Pulcinella and heard the story of finding Mr. Setti's shop. To my surprise, I remembered exactly how to find it, and that summer Arlecchino and Pantalone came home with me. In 2012 the Capitano joined the group and in 2014 a zanni mask. In 2016 I vowed to keep my spending down, but my students surprised me by pooling their money and presenting me Brighella on our last night in town!
This June I'll be back in Venice, and certainly will return to La Pietra Filosopfale with a new group of students, all of whom will have met my collection of Mr. Setti's amazing masks. I can't speak highly enough of this truly charming shop. Mr. Setti's work is just amazing. The craftsmanship is outstanding, but it is his knowledge and love of the commedia dell'arte that is most impressive, making each one of his masks a little miracle of sympathetic magic.
