Il Capitano (; ) is one of the four stock characters of commedia dell'arte. He most probably was never a "Captain", but rather appropriated the name for himself. thumb|right|Il Capitano uses bravado and excessive shows of manliness to hide his true cowardly nature. Engraving by [[Abraham Bosse.]]

Its genesis dates back to the Pyrgopolinices of Titus Maccio Plautus' Miles gloriosus and to Terence's Thrason of the Eunuch. He was reborn in various forms in the Italian theater of the Renaissance. He usually personified the vainglorious soldier. He could boast of titles he did not possess or of feats he had never accomplished. In the most negative versions he actually poorly concealed the terror of having to face a battle or a duel. However, the Captains could also have positive characteristics, as dreamers with noble feelings.

An example of a captain portrayed in a more positive way is Francesco Andreini's Captain Spaventa, capable of noble feelings, almost a dreamer. Another captain, portrayed as a laughing stock pitted against the Moors, is Captain Matamoros by Silvio Fiorillo; he had the clothing of the Spanish soldiers of the time, enriched however with trinkets and ribbons and very colourful, and with purely Iberian diction and ways of saying. Several other types of Capitano exist. Inspired by the mask are numerous other variants such as Capitan Giangurgolo, Capitan Corazza, Capitan Cardone, Rinoceronte, Terremoto, Spezzaferro, Spaccamonti, Capitan Rodomonte. Numerous derivations of the mask adopted from the Neapolitan carnival or more generally from literature, such as Captain Fracassa, can also be traced back to the captain.

Lazzi

  1. Whenever il Capitano sees the audience, he stops to be admired.
  2. Il Capitano gloats to Harlequin about his expertise with the ladies and then proceeds to demonstrate on Harlequin how he would make love to a woman.
  3. He wakes up to find he is not the only one in the room. Someone is crouching in the corner. He shakes his fist at the person, the person shakes their fist back at the same time. It turns out the person in the room is just il Capitano's reflection in a full-length mirror. The nose for Capitan Spaventa's mask is fairly large, but it lengthens with Matamoros and becomes absolutely gargantuan for Coccodrillo. Originally, the color of the mask was probably flesh tone, now it can be many flamboyant colors such as bright pink, yellow, and light blue. The mask often has a strong mustache and brow lines that can be black or have a purple/blue tone.