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TOC
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elephants, lions, or tigers did in former
times.
The comedy, in which these charac-
ters were introduced, was represented in
all its buffoon perfection; and I now
saw, for the first time, Harlequin, Brig-
hella, Pantalone, and Colombina, in true
Italian purity. The stage was erected in
the middle of the arena; there were only
two boxes, one on each side the stage:
the area before the stage made a kind of
pit, where the better sort of company sat
on chairs. The next best places were on
the steps, about twelve deep, railed off
from the rest of the steps, which may be
regarded as the upper gallery; but all
this in the open air, and the seats the
naked marble.
The modern theatre is erected near the
ancient. The musæum or collection of an-
tiquities in the possession of the academy
of Verona, and the lapidario built in
1719 compose a part of this edifice. The
entrance into the theatre is through a
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