The Petersburg circus on Fontanka: history of the first stone circus in Russia

The horse approached the bed wearily, removed her robe with a habitual motion, blew out the candle, and crawled under the blanket, gazing dreamily at the ceiling. In a half-slumber, she saw a swamp, a meadow, snow, elephants, and that little dog. The horse couldn't remember its name but remembered that it barked most unpleasantly and always at the elephants. As the fabulist Krylov said: surely it must be strong... The horse sighed again, more forcefully than intended, and the candlestick fell, hitting the copper chamber pot... Thunderous applause erupted. The orchestra played a fanfare. The horse jumped up and, bowing gracefully, retreated backstage.

Yes, yes! That's exactly how it happened! For in the circus, anything is possible, any magic, any enchantment. The only thing that couldn't have been was a "horse" on the arena. A stallion - yes, a gelding - yes, but not a "horse" [note: in Russian, "loshad" is feminine]. This stallion was called "Don Juan," and he performed the act "Horse in Bed". The entire performance was directed by Gaetano, or perhaps Scipione? In any case, someone from the Ciniselli circus dynasty. They always had acts with horses.

And the horse's dream was truthful. She could have dreamed of elephants and snow. After all, the place where the amazing tent of the Ciniselli circus stood, if not hallowed by prayer, was certainly trampled. Trampled by elephants that nibbled grass on the banks of the Fontanka River and bathed in the Fontanka.

These days, people enjoy alternative histories, especially about such a mystical city as Petersburg. But the story with the elephants is true.

The first elephant trudged to the banks of the Neva in 1714. On its own, by foot. Persian Shah Hussein gifted this exotic beast to Peter I. It was transported by sea to Astrakhan, and from there, it traveled by itself, all by itself. The journey was difficult, but occasionally pleasant. In some towns, it was welcomed with bread and salt. In others, people would cross themselves out of respect for its stateliness and size, bow deeply, and spit over their shoulders three times. Sooner or later, the elephant named Cambiz appeared before the emperor, alive and well. And for three more years, it was a constant presence before his eyes until it died from the cold and unusual food (hay seasoned with cinnamon and butter). The elephant house that was built on the meadow near the Marble Palace didn't remain empty for long. Soon another royal gift was placed there—the Gottorp Globe.

Gifts from Asia continued to arrive. Literally walking themselves. In 1736, another shah, Nadir, again gifted an elephant (no imagination at all!) to Empress Anna Ioannovna. This prudent woman had ordered an elephant house to be built in advance. "Her Imperial Majesty's Elephant House" was constructed from oak logs at the place where the circus now stands and where that very horse had her dream.

1741. The same Nadir decided to court Elizabeth, hoping to ally against the Ottomans. The shah sent a gift. Well, you've already guessed—an elephant. Though this time not just one, but fourteen of them. Following tradition, they walked on foot, but now wearing slippers to protect their feet from the infamous Russian roadlessness. The elephants were accompanied by a whole caravan of elephant handlers and elephant experts.

This time, they approached the gift even more responsibly. They repaired the Anichkov Bridge. They built a square on the Fontanka for bathing and reinforced the banks. An entire street was dedicated to serve as a caravanserai for the handlers, which was later named Karavannaya (Caravan Street). An elephant town with storehouses, ice houses, and kitchens was built on Karavannaya Square. Later, when everyone had left these places, the square became Manezhnaya (Riding Hall Square).

Following the advice of elephant experts, the handlers exercised the giants along the Perspektivnaya Road (now Nevsky Prospect). Idle people and soldiers from the Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments took up the habit of throwing sticks and stones at the elephants and their accompanying handlers. The commandant of St. Petersburg had to issue a decree "On Not Causing Disturbance." After the decree, only the unreasonable little dog barked at the elephants; people stopped.

Just as everyone was getting settled and becoming accustomed to the caravans, winter arrived. As is our tradition—with snow, wind, and frost. The elephants shivered and trumpeted loudly, longing for sunny Persia. Our compassionate people "warmed" the elephants as best they could. A shot for themselves, a bucket for the animal, saying: "Don't take it as poison, take it as medicine." Elephants, like people, behave differently when intoxicated. Some sleep, some dance. One (elephant), for example, escaped and destroyed what the newspapers then called a "Finnish village." Others (elephants), "angered amongst themselves over females," fought seriously. The handlers, to avoid taking sins upon their souls, came to the temple, converted to Orthodoxy, and married citizens from Karavannaya Street.

Thus, the elephants lived on the Fontanka for three years. In 1744, they were relocated to a pine forest beyond the Ligovsky Canal, where the Hotel Oktyabrskaya now stands. A new Elephant Street appeared—now Suvorovsky Prospect. In 1778, Catherine II ordered them to be transported to Tsarskoye Selo.

After the elephants left, they began to beautify Manezhnaya Square. It was almost the outskirts of the city, with only "a garden for chasing and shooting deer, boars, and hares" behind it. Elizabeth Petrovna with Rastrelli, Paul I with Bazhenov built and rebuilt, and with their Summer Palaces and Mikhailovsky Castles, exercising houses and barracks of the sapper battalion, they defined the northern border of Manezhnaya. In 1823, A.A. Betancourt looked at all this with his urban planning eye, whispered with Karl Rossi, and they combined all the facades of the buildings into a unified composition. The square became a proper square.

Then other architects contributed: somewhere they erected a stone wall, somewhere they installed an openwork fence. Skilled gardeners applied their touch – they created a landscape garden. The square acquired a complete and beautiful appearance. The area ceased to be the outskirts and became a coveted spot for various entertainments.

And what entertainment is the most exciting, fun, and lively? That's right, the circus. We won't delve into world history or talk about jesters and skomorokhs. We're talking about the modern circus.

In 1824, the Frenchman Jacques Tournier with his troupe was shining in the circus world. After magnificent tours throughout Europe, they reached Russia. Petersburg enthusiastically welcomed the artists. Three years later, Jacques repeated the trip. Moscow, Petersburg, Christmas at Palace Square. Sold-out performances everywhere. And Tournier began to wonder: should he settle in Russia? Should he replace the canvas big top with something more reliable? And he did settle. And he built a permanent circus. In December 1827, the Olympic Circus opened on Simeonovskaya Square (now Belinsky Square). Exactly in the place where Ciniselli Circus now stands.

At this time, Gaetano Ciniselli wasn't yet dreaming of anything like that. He was systematically and methodically mastering the circus arts. From the age of 12, he trained with famous masters, including Alessandro Guerro himself, nicknamed "The Furious." The circus at that time was horse-oriented. Riders, voltigeurs, trainers – these were the performers the public primarily came to see. A refined and elegant rider, Ciniselli had a feel for horses, merged with them during performances, and subjected them to his will. No one handled horses the way he did. Soon Gaetano became the highlight of Guerro's troupe.

Tournier's Olympic Circus soon went awry. Literally. The foundation shifted, the walls collapsed. Jacques himself grew tired of the damp, gray Petersburg. Abandoning everything, he left, probably for Europe. For some time, various "homeless" troupes still performed in the premises, but in 1842 the dilapidated building was demolished.

For Gaetano Ciniselli, everything was going its course. He acquired a family. His wife, a rider and acrobat Wilhelmina, came from the Ginne circus dynasty. Her pseudonym was Landrinette, after Landrin candies. Wealthy aristocrats came to admire the beauty.

The Ciniselli family first came to Russia in 1846. They were invited by their teacher, the very same "Furious" Alessandro Guerro. The latter already had his own circus in Petersburg. A wooden, warm building where the Mariinsky Theatre now stands. Gaetano and Wilhelmina spent the 1846/1847 season in St. Petersburg. Popularity, success, love—what more does an artist need! But then Jacques Lejars arrives in Petersburg and builds his circus next to the Alexandrinsky Theatre. The competition becomes unreal. Guerro allows the public into the stables, Lejars emphasizes luxury. Guerro's troupe has first-class riders, Lejars' repertoire features theatrical performances. The rivalry ended with both circuses becoming state-owned, bought by the Directorate of Imperial Theaters, which decided to run the circus business itself.

Guerro left Russia. The Ciniselli family followed. They went to England.

In England, Gaetano, having mastered all the basics of circus art, organized his own troupe. The core was family, and even relatives—sisters with husbands, nephews. Gaetano also proved to be a good manager; the circus business was successful, with all the arenas of Europe at his troupe's feet.

Meanwhile, on Manezhnaya Square, they decided to arrange something new to entertain the strollers. Theatrical decorator A.I. Roller built a wooden building there to show panoramas of different cities. He even showed one once. In 1849, the public saw what Palermo looked like. But Roller suddenly went abroad, and the house was demolished.

The place where elephants once roamed and Roller showed his panorama was chosen by the Bavarian Karl Ginne for his own circus. He obtained permission and built a wooden building on Manezhnaya in 1867. Karl had his own troupe, but he wanted to inject fresh blood. He invited relatives. His brother-in-law Ciniselli with family. Brother-in-law—this is not a belonging to Shura. In the Russian world, it's the wife's brother. Well, you understand—Wilhelmina was both Gaetano's wife and Karl's sister. Ciniselli gladly agreed, and soon his family, also his troupe, arrived in St. Petersburg. Gaetano himself, wife Wilhelmina, sons Andrea, Scipione, Erneste, daughter Emma, and even daughter-in-law Clotilde entered the arena of Ginne's circus.

Soon the public realized that the world's best circus had appeared in Petersburg.

In 1872, for unknown reasons, Karl Ginne went to Moscow, transferring circus affairs to his relatives.

Gaetano was a sharp fellow, doing everything thoroughly, and when he decided to open his own circus, he started with the building. Wood is an unreliable material—it rots and burns. It needed to be built in stone. He selected a spot near the Simeonovsky Bridge. Where the elephant house once stood. Gaetano sent petition after petition to the Council to allocate land for a circus. The petitions were rejected with various wording: that the circus does not have the same significance as a theater, where people can rest mentally and spiritually; that it would block the view of the Mikhailovsky Castle; that children would lose the opportunity to walk in the square. Officials have long had their scripts written. And yet the Italian achieved his goal. After Gaetano promised to beautify Manezhnaya Square, he received permission to build. The land was leased for 40 years for a ridiculous sum.

In any case, everyone kept their word.

On December 26, 1877, the permanent stone circus opened. Beautiful from an architectural point of view, unique from a technical perspective.

Manezhnaya was also improved. True, only after a lawsuit by the City Council, but nevertheless, in 1878 the square was brought to the promised appearance. A fountain, like in the Alexander Garden, paths, flower beds with roses, elms, poplars, maples, jasmine. Simply beautiful!

The Ciniselli Circus became the first permanent stone circus in Russia. New engineering solutions were applied during construction. A spherical dome of mesh-ribbed design, like an inverted bowl, covered the building and was installed without supporting columns. The capacity of the stalls was 1,200 people. With the gallery, it totaled 5,000.

The majestic and elegant building was the most beautiful in Europe. It combined baroque and renaissance, classical lines and lavish decoration.

The architect, Vasily Kenel, was awarded a diamond ring either for the dome or for the royal box.

Ciniselli saw his target audience as rich and famous. The establishment was furnished accordingly. Crimson velvet, mirrors, gilding, aquariums with goldfish, soft carpets, a royal box with caryatids, the scent of perfume in the stables. Uniformed staff in starched linen, tickets on silk paper. The aristocracy whispered that if you want to know how to wear a lorgnette this year, what the latest European fashion is, and where to place a beauty mark, then go to Ciniselli.

Water spectacles where water shot in fountains, fell in cascades, where deer, horses, elephants swam. Pantomimes, more like performances, for which they even distributed librettos. The first championships in French wrestling. All this was the Ciniselli Circus.

The Petersburg newspaper wrote in 1878: "His troupe is very well composed. It includes representatives of the highest school of riding with the director himself at the helm, skillful male and female riders, daring voltigeurs, quite agile female voltigeurs, strongmen, very proper dancers on rope and wire, adept clowns and excellent horses." The circus also featured camels, snakes, lions, tigers, leopards, and bears.

But equestrian acts always remained central at the Ciniselli Circus. They were structured so that throughout the evening, all the horses from the circus stable were shown in different genres. And in the finale, in acts like "Free Training" or "Carousel," all the horses came out to the arena at once.

Everything in the circus was designed for equestrian performances. The diameter of the ring is 13 meters. This allows the horse to accelerate and run in a circle at the same pace. It's convenient for the rider to perform tricks. Even the master of ceremonies in the circus is called the ringmaster. Which translates as "the speaking stable master."

Gaetano was a good rider, a good owner, and engaged in training until his last day. He died in 1881. Wilhelmina continued to manage the circus. The skillful and strong horsewoman kept the diverse troupe personnel in check. Her glance, gesture, movement of an eyebrow was an order for everyone. Even her sons and nephews feared Wilhelmina. In 1886, Wilhelmina also died. The Ciniselli couple is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery of Petersburg.

After their mother's death, first Andrea and then Scipione led the troupe.

It was under Scipione that the circus reached the peak of its popularity. Performances were held every day. And every day the audience saw a new program. Chaliapin, Gorky, Blok, Grigorovich, and of course the imperial family all loved to attend the circus.

The 20th century began with challenges. The Russo-Japanese War, World War I... The circus could not stay aside. Patriotic pantomimes took place in the arena. Many singers held charity concerts in the circus arena, with proceeds going to help the front. In 1916, Ciniselli's land lease expired.

In 1919, the circus was nationalized, and Scipione and his family left Russia. The last information about him was in 1925 from Berlin. Newspapers wrote that the last of the Ciniselli was dying in hunger and cold.

The circus also experienced difficult times after the revolution. These years were marked by one loss after another. The sculptural images of the muses were the first to disappear from the arched openings. Then the sculptural group from the building's facade vanished. The unique dome was modernized. The orchestra was placed in the royal box. One thing remained unchanged—the circus remained a circus, a beloved circus.

In 1924, it was headed by Williams Trucci. Williams Zhizhettovich came from an Italian circus family. He first entered the arena at ten years old, and from fourteen worked in the circus stable. At sixteen, he prepared his own act with six horses. The revolution caught Williams in Odessa. The troupe scattered, and animals died of hunger. Trucci began working as a coachman. After the Bolsheviks came to Odessa, Williams voluntarily joined the Red Army cavalry. After the civil war, he actively engaged in establishing the circus. He was the director of the Sevastopol, Moscow, and then Leningrad circuses. At the same time, he always remained an active performer. He was the creator of many acts. In 1931, he contracted tuberculosis and died.

In 1941, the circus completed its 63rd season. The war began, the circus closed, but the artists' performances did not end. At the fronts, on the streets of blockaded Leningrad, the troupe continued to perform. And in November 1944, the doors of the Circus on Fontanka opened again. The clown Karandash opened this performance.

Now the building has been restored and renovated. The muses have returned to their place, and the circus has been given back its name. Since 2015, the facade proudly displays—Ciniselli Circus.

But there are no more elephants in Petersburg. Not even in the zoo. And only some circus horse might dream of an elephant trudging along the banks of the Fontanka. The place is well-trodden.

And in the circus, wide doors,
Arena, lights, braids,
And people jump like animals,
And animals are as wise as people.
(David Samoilov. Circus)