zanni, stock servant character in the Italian improvisational theatre known as the commedia dell’arte. Zanni were valet buffoons, clowns, and knavish jacks-of-all-trades. All possessed common sense, intelligence, pride, and a love of practical jokes and intrigue. They were, however, often quarrelsome, cowardly, envious, spiteful, vindictive, and treacherous. The term is thought to be a diminutive form of Giovanni common to Bergamo, in Lombardy, where the zanni character originated, and it refers to male servants. Dei Zanni (“the zanni”) was a generic term for the commedia dell’arte itself.
The zanni’s costumes consisted of a wood or leather half mask with hair and beard glued to it, a loose blouse, wide trousers, and a wide-brimmed or tall conical hat with long feathers.
Zanni initiated the action of the play and produced comic impact based on repeated comic actions (lazzi), topical jokes, and practical jokes (burle), often directed against the smug, the proud, and the pretentious. Zanni were also notable for their feats of acrobatics.
In some commedia performances there was only one zanni; in others there might be two to four. The principal character among them was often called simply Zanni, while his companion(s) had various names—Scapin, Scaramouche, Pedrolino, Arlecchino (Harlequin), or Pulcinella (Punch). Frequently two zanni played contrasting roles, the first clever and adept at confounding and the second a dull-witted foil.