Mademoiselle Nathaline Zoppè, gymnaste

Mademoiselle Nathaline Zoppè, gymnaste

Circus artist

The roots of the family are lost in the legend that says that a Napoline Zoppè (Napoleon?) travelled to Hugary from France in 1842. He met Ermenegilda, an equestrian ballerina. They belonged to two different social ranks, a clown and an equestrian, so they eloped to Italy to avoid her father’s prohibition. This is how the dynasty was born and also the agile Nathaline, with the serious expression we see in this photo belonging to the family. The legend may have some shreds of truth as a Zoppè sister (Emma’s sister) was called Natalina (born January 6, 1899 and married in the Zamperla family, another circus family). She is buried in the cemetery of San Fior. Her son, Alberto’s cousin, was named Napoleone. Could these names honor the ancestors?

Zoppè family