The 3 Bragazzi - Revision history

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2026-04-03T19:39:19Z

‎Enter The 3 Bragazzi

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2026-04-03T19:39:01Z

‎The Goretti Family

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2026-04-03T19:38:27Z

‎The Goretti Family

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2026-04-03T19:37:36Z

‎The Goretti Family

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2026-04-03T19:37:17Z

‎The Goretti Family

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2026-04-03T19:35:55Z

‎Image Gallery

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2026-04-03T19:30:25Z

‎Image Gallery

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2021-03-16T23:55:37Z

‎Epilogue

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2021-03-10T22:58:38Z

‎Image Gallery

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2021-03-10T22:43:20Z

‎Epilogue

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 When WWII began in September 1939, the Gorettis were still in Germany. Their Italian nationality gave them the possibility to remain in the country, where circus and variety were extremely popular, and where they could work without any problem (Italy being part of the Axis). By 1942, however, after the United States had entered the war and the Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of the Soviet Union) had ended in disaster, the situation in Germany became increasingly precarious.
-[[File:Bragazzis_-_3_sailors.jpg|thumb|right|300pc|The 3 Bragazzi – sailor version (c.1950)]]In 1943, the Allies invaded North Africa and then Italy, which surrendered in September. The Gorettis suddenly found themselves unwelcome in Germany, and at the beginning of 1944, they took refuge in Malmö, in neutral Sweden. Enrico Senior, who was in his late sixties, decided to retire from performing, and Umberto, Alfredo and Enrico Goretti created their own comedy tumbling act, The 3 Bragazzi, with their father acting as their manager. Dressed as sailors, in a style popularized by the famous [[The Craddocks|Craddocks]] ([[Les Fratellini|François Fratellini]]’s sons), they were able to display not only their comedic talents, but also their strong acrobatic skills&mdash;a winning combination that proved very successful. Having cut the artistic umbilical cord, they were finally able to embark on a career of their own.
+[[File:Bragazzis_-_3_sailors.jpg|thumb|left|300pc|The 3 Bragazzi – sailor version (c.1950)]]In 1943, the Allies invaded North Africa and then Italy, which surrendered in September. The Gorettis suddenly found themselves unwelcome in Germany, and at the beginning of 1944, they took refuge in Malmö, in neutral Sweden. Enrico Senior, who was in his late sixties, decided to retire from performing, and Umberto, Alfredo and Enrico Goretti created their own comedy tumbling act, The 3 Bragazzi, with their father acting as their manager. Dressed as sailors, in a style popularized by the famous [[The Craddocks|Craddocks]] ([[Les Fratellini|François Fratellini]]’s sons), they were able to display not only their comedic talents, but also their strong acrobatic skills&mdash;a winning combination that proved very successful. Having cut the artistic umbilical cord, they were finally able to embark on a career of their own.
 The 3 Bragazzi worked extensively in Sweden, and for twelve years after the war had ended, in the rest of Scandinavia&mdash;notably with [[Cirkus Schumann]], which was then one of Europe’s most prestigious circuses. Enrico, Goretti Sr., their father and manager, passed away in in 1954. The following year, the brothers began to seriously expand their territory: They sailed on the RMS "Arundel Castle" to South-Africa for a one-year contract with that country’s [[Boswell Brothers Circus]] (not to be confused with [[Boswell-Wilkie Circus]]).

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 ===The Goretti Family===
-[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
+[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
 The senior Gorettis’ parents were Giuseppe Albano Angelo Goretti, an acrobat, and his wife, Josephine Napoleone, née Bragazzi (whose forenames belie a family admiration for the French emperor Napoléon and his clan). The senior Enrico and Alfredo will use their father’s second name, Albano, as their stage name; as for Enrico’s sons, they will eventually use their grandmother’s name, Bragazzi. None of them seem to have ever kept their real name, Goretti, as a stage name.
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 After the beginning of World War I in 1914, the Albano Brothers left Paris and the Nouveau Cirque, and resettled in Barcelona in Spanish Catalonia, where they would be based for the next fifteen years. There, the Hermanos Albano performed at the [[Teatro Cómico-Circo Ecuestre]] and, starting in 1915, they went on tour regularly with [[Circo Feijóo]], a well-known and respected circus founded in 1885, which had a joyous reputation in the business as a "clown paradise."
-By 1920, the Hermanos Albano had become fixtures of Madrid’s famous [[Circo Parish]] (before it recovered its original name, [[Circo Price]], ten years later). The year 1920 also saw the debut of ''Los Albanitos'': Umberto and Alfredo, Jr., who formed this acrobatic duo, were respectively eleven and eight years old. The young Gorettis also learned to play musical instruments, which was part of all clown families’ education. (In 1924, at age twelve, Alfredo, who played piano, guitar, mandolin, trombone and accordion&mdash;all by ear&mdash;performed Schubert’s ''Ave Maria'' on the accordion at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]], Lisbon’s fabled circus, for a gala celebrating the Hermanos Albano.)[[File:Four_Albano.jpeg|thumb|left|400px|The Four Albano (1940)]]
+By 1920, the Hermanos Albano had become fixtures of Madrid’s famous [[Circo Parish]] (before it recovered its original name, [[Circo Price]], ten years later). The year 1920 also saw the debut of ''Los Albanitos'': Umberto and Alfredo, Jr., who formed this acrobatic duo, were respectively eleven and eight years old. The young Gorettis also learned to play musical instruments, which was part of all clown families’ education. (In 1924, at age twelve, Alfredo, who played piano, guitar, mandolin, trombone and accordion&mdash;all by ear&mdash;performed Schubert’s ''Ave Maria'' on the accordion at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]], Lisbon’s fabled circus, for a gala celebrating the Hermanos Albano.)[[File:Four_Albano.jpeg|thumb|right|400px|The Four Albano (1940)]]
 In July 1930, the family sailed for Argentina on the "Cap Arcona," to perform in a variety theater in Buenos Aires. By then, the children’s act was complete, with the addition of Enrico, who was now fourteen. They performed their tumbling act along with their father and uncle. In August, they joined [[Circo Manetti]] in Uruguay, and ended the year in Rio de Janeiro before sailing back in mid-December for Europe on the "General Osorio."

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 ===The Goretti Family===
-[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
+[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
 The senior Gorettis’ parents were Giuseppe Albano Angelo Goretti, an acrobat, and his wife, Josephine Napoleone, née Bragazzi (whose forenames belie a family admiration for the French emperor Napoléon and his clan). The senior Enrico and Alfredo will use their father’s second name, Albano, as their stage name; as for Enrico’s sons, they will eventually use their grandmother’s name, Bragazzi. None of them seem to have ever kept their real name, Goretti, as a stage name.
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 After the beginning of World War I in 1914, the Albano Brothers left Paris and the Nouveau Cirque, and resettled in Barcelona in Spanish Catalonia, where they would be based for the next fifteen years. There, the Hermanos Albano performed at the [[Teatro Cómico-Circo Ecuestre]] and, starting in 1915, they went on tour regularly with [[Circo Feijóo]], a well-known and respected circus founded in 1885, which had a joyous reputation in the business as a "clown paradise."
-[[File:Four_Albano.jpeg|thumb|left|400px|The Four Albano (1940)]]
-By 1920, the Hermanos Albano had become fixtures of Madrid’s famous [[Circo Parish]] (before it recovered its original name, [[Circo Price]], ten years later). The year 1920 also saw the debut of ''Los Albanitos'': Umberto and Alfredo, Jr., who formed this acrobatic duo, were respectively eleven and eight years old. The young Gorettis also learned to play musical instruments, which was part of all clown families’ education. (In 1924, at age twelve, Alfredo, who played piano, guitar, mandolin, trombone and accordion&mdash;all by ear&mdash;performed Schubert’s ''Ave Maria'' on the accordion at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]], Lisbon’s fabled circus, for a gala celebrating the Hermanos Albano.)
+By 1920, the Hermanos Albano had become fixtures of Madrid’s famous [[Circo Parish]] (before it recovered its original name, [[Circo Price]], ten years later). The year 1920 also saw the debut of ''Los Albanitos'': Umberto and Alfredo, Jr., who formed this acrobatic duo, were respectively eleven and eight years old. The young Gorettis also learned to play musical instruments, which was part of all clown families’ education. (In 1924, at age twelve, Alfredo, who played piano, guitar, mandolin, trombone and accordion&mdash;all by ear&mdash;performed Schubert’s ''Ave Maria'' on the accordion at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]], Lisbon’s fabled circus, for a gala celebrating the Hermanos Albano.)[[File:Four_Albano.jpeg|thumb|left|400px|The Four Albano (1940)]]
 In July 1930, the family sailed for Argentina on the "Cap Arcona," to perform in a variety theater in Buenos Aires. By then, the children’s act was complete, with the addition of Enrico, who was now fourteen. They performed their tumbling act along with their father and uncle. In August, they joined [[Circo Manetti]] in Uruguay, and ended the year in Rio de Janeiro before sailing back in mid-December for Europe on the "General Osorio."

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 ===The Goretti Family===
-[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|right|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
+[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
 The senior Gorettis’ parents were Giuseppe Albano Angelo Goretti, an acrobat, and his wife, Josephine Napoleone, née Bragazzi (whose forenames belie a family admiration for the French emperor Napoléon and his clan). The senior Enrico and Alfredo will use their father’s second name, Albano, as their stage name; as for Enrico’s sons, they will eventually use their grandmother’s name, Bragazzi. None of them seem to have ever kept their real name, Goretti, as a stage name.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ===The Goretti Family===
-Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
+[[File:Enrico_Albano.jpg|thumb|right|Enrico Albano (Goretti)]]Umberto (1909-1999), Alfredo (1912-2008) and Enrico (1916-2007) were the sons of Enrico Paolo Goretti and his wife, Ida, née Knorr. Enrico, Sr. had performed with his brother, Alfredo, Sr., an acrobatic act under the stage name of Wellington Brothers, before becoming quite famous as the Albano Brothers (or Hermanos Albano), a clown duo that was extremely popular in Spain, Portugal and France in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Among other venues, the Albano Brothers starred from 1908 to 1914 at Paris’s posh [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)|Nouveau Cirque]], where they had successfully supplanted its legendary stars, [[Foottit and Chocolat]].
 The senior Gorettis’ parents were Giuseppe Albano Angelo Goretti, an acrobat, and his wife, Josephine Napoleone, née Bragazzi (whose forenames belie a family admiration for the French emperor Napoléon and his clan). The senior Enrico and Alfredo will use their father’s second name, Albano, as their stage name; as for Enrico’s sons, they will eventually use their grandmother’s name, Bragazzi. None of them seem to have ever kept their real name, Goretti, as a stage name.

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 File:Albano_Brothers.png|The Albano Brothers (c.1905)
 File:Alfredo_Albano.jpg|Alfredo Albano (1930)
 File:Four_Albano.jpeg|The Four Albano (1940)
 File:Four_Albano_-_WinterGarten.jpg|The Four Albano (1940)

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 In 1937, while working at Blackpool’s Tower Circus along with the famous lady "fakir"-cum-crocodile "hypnotist" (i.e., trainer), [[Koringa]], Alfredo met his future wife, Maria Horváth, who worked as one of Koringa’s many assistants; they fell in love and were married in Budapest (Maria was Hungarian) the following year. His brothers also chose to marry circus performers: Umberto wedded German-born Marianne Thomas on August 10, 1960 in Brussels, Belgium. Enrico married British-born Jeanne May Di Leo, also in 1960.
-In 1949, while they were still performing their tumbling act, Ernesto and Umberto had appeared, uncredited, in Ingmar Bergman’s movie ''Fängelse'' (known also as ''Prison'' or ''The Devil’s Wanton''), the first film entirely written and directed by the famous Swedish director. Much later, in 1982, after their retirement, the three brothers appeared together in the Swedish television movie ''Man och Amanda'', which also featured the famous clown [[Joe Jackson, Jr.]] and his collapsing bicycle.
+In 1949, while they were still performing their tumbling act, Enrico and Umberto had appeared, uncredited, in Ingmar Bergman’s movie ''Fängelse'' (known also as ''Prison'' or ''The Devil’s Wanton''), the first film entirely written and directed by the famous Swedish director. Much later, in 1982, after their retirement, the three brothers appeared together in the Swedish television movie ''Man och Amanda'', which also featured the famous clown [[Joe Jackson, Jr.]] and his collapsing bicycle.
-Umberto, Alberto and Enrico Goretti had long made Sweden their home. Enrico and Umberto retired in Katrineholm, in Södermanland, and Alfredo settled in Solna, near Stockholm. Umberto passed away on December 9, 1999, Enrico on May 14, 2007, and Alfredo on April 5, 2008.
+Umberto, Alfredo and Enrico Goretti had long made Sweden their home. Enrico and Umberto retired in Katrineholm, in Södermanland, and Alfredo settled in Solna, near Stockholm. Umberto passed away on December 9, 1999, Enrico on May 14, 2007, and Alfredo on April 5, 2008.
 ==See Also==

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 File:The_Bragazzis.jpg|The 3 Bragazzi (c.1950)
 File:The_Bragazzis_-_Sailors.jpg|The 3 Bragazzi (c.1950)
 File:Boswell_Brothers.png|Boswell Brothers Circus (1955)
 File:Bragazzi_Ad.jpg|Professional Ad (1958)

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 ===Epilogue===
-In 1937, while working at Blackpool’s Tower Circus along with the famous lady "fakir"-cum-crocodile "hypnotist" (i.e., trainer), [[Koringa]], Alfredo met his future wife, Maria Horváth, who worked as one of Koringa’s many assistants; they fell in love and were married in Budapest (Mria was Hungarian) the following year. His brothers also chose to marry circus performers: Umberto wedded German-born Marianne Thomas on August 10, 1960 in Brussels, Belgium. Enrico married British-born Jeanne May Di Leo, also in 1960.
+In 1937, while working at Blackpool’s Tower Circus along with the famous lady "fakir"-cum-crocodile "hypnotist" (i.e., trainer), [[Koringa]], Alfredo met his future wife, Maria Horváth, who worked as one of Koringa’s many assistants; they fell in love and were married in Budapest (Maria was Hungarian) the following year. His brothers also chose to marry circus performers: Umberto wedded German-born Marianne Thomas on August 10, 1960 in Brussels, Belgium. Enrico married British-born Jeanne May Di Leo, also in 1960.
 In 1949, while they were still performing their tumbling act, Ernesto and Umberto had appeared, uncredited, in Ingmar Bergman’s movie ''Fängelse'' (known also as ''Prison'' or ''The Devil’s Wanton''), the first film entirely written and directed by the famous Swedish director. Much later, in 1982, after their retirement, the three brothers appeared together in the Swedish television movie ''Man och Amanda'', which also featured the famous clown [[Joe Jackson, Jr.]] and his collapsing bicycle.