Eduardo Scarpetta

Eduardo Scarpetta (1853–1925) was an Italian actor and playwright from Naples, Italy. Although not from a theatrical family, he was on the stage by the age of four and is today best remembered as the creator of a character that became his stage alter-ego: Felice Sciosciammocca, a typical, good-natured Neapolitan. The name "Sciosciammocca" translates from Neapolitan as "breath in mouth"—thus, with "Felice" (Happy) the name conveys something like wide-eyed and perhaps a bit scatter-brained. The character was a break with the traditional portrayal of the Neapolitan streetwise Everyman and, as an implied stereotype, invites comparison to the well-known, darker historical Neapolitan "mask" of Pulcinella. The character appears prominently in Scarpetta’s best-known work, Miseria e Nobiltà (Misery

Eduardo Scarpetta

Eduardo Scarpetta (1853–1925) was an Italian actor and playwright from Naples, Italy. Although not from a theatrical family, he was on the stage by the age of four and is today best remembered as the creator of a character that became his stage alter-ego: Felice Sciosciammocca, a typical, good-natured Neapolitan. The name "Sciosciammocca" translates from Neapolitan as "breath in mouth"—thus, with "Felice" (Happy) the name conveys something like wide-eyed and perhaps a bit scatter-brained. The character was a break with the traditional portrayal of the Neapolitan streetwise Everyman and, as an implied stereotype, invites comparison to the well-known, darker historical Neapolitan "mask" of Pulcinella. The character appears prominently in Scarpetta’s best-known work, Miseria e Nobiltà (Misery