of the zanni role, along with the name of his character, after his death in 1630, among others, by Nicolò Zecca, active c. 1630 in Bologna as well as Turin and Mantua. The character was also performed in Paris at the Comédie-Italienne in Italian by Giovan Battista Andreini and Angelo Costantini (c. 1654–1729) and in French as Arlequin in the 1660s by (1636–1688), who combined the zanni types, "making his Arlecchino witty, neat, and fluent in a croaking voice, which became as traditional as the squawk of Punch." The Italians were expelled from France in 1697 for satirizing King Louis XIV's second wife, Madame de Maintenon, but returned in 1716 (after his death), when Tommaso Antonio Vicentini ("Thomassin", 1682–1739) became famous in the part. The rhombus shape of the patches arose by adaptation to the Paris fashion of the 17th century by Biancolelli. Characteristics and dramatic function Physicality The primary aspect of Arlecchino was his physical agility. He was very nimble and performed the sort of acrobatics the audience expected to see. The character would never perform a simple action when the addition of a cartwheel, somersault, or flip would spice up the movement. Early characteristics of Arlecchino paint the character as a second zanni servant from northern Italy with the paradoxical attributes of a dimwitted fool and an intelligent trickster. Arlecchino is sometimes referred to as putting on a show of stupidity in a metatheatrical attempt to create chaos within the play. Physically, Arlecchino is described as wearing a costume covered in irregular patches, a hat outfitted with either a rabbit or fox's tail, and a red and black mask. The mask itself is identified by carbuncles on the forehead, small eyes, a snub nose, hollow cheeks, and sometimes bushy brows with facial hair. Arlecchino is often depicted as having a wooden sword hanging from a leather belt on his person. Aside from his acrobatics, Arlecchino is also known for having several specific traits such as: Appearing humpbacked without artificial padding The ability to eat large amounts of food quickly Using his wooden sword like a fan A parody of bel canto and several other techniques. Speech One of the major distinctions of commedia dell'arte is the use of regional languages. Arlecchino's speech evolved with the character. Originally speaking in a Bergamo dialect of Lombard language, the character adopted a mixture of French, Lombard and Italian dialects when the