Circo Libera Tutti – Scuola di Arti Circensi

Circo Libera Tutti is a circus arts school located in Montelupo Fiorentino, in the metropolitan city of Florence in Tuscany.

The project began its activities in 2011.

The Circo Libera Tutti association was officially created in 2012 following a meeting between Samuele Mariotti and Stefano Bertelli .

Both already possessed extensive experience in the fields of circus pedagogy, educational circus, and social circus.

The school was built around a circus concept in which technical learning, motor development, creativity and social development are closely linked.

Circo Libera Tutti thus seeks to promote circus arts from a playful, educational, artistic and social perspective.

Regular classes

Regular classes welcome children from a very young age.

At Montelupo Fiorentino, activities begin as early as three years old .

The groups are organized according to the age and level of the participants.

The youngest children discover the circus through an approach adapted to their psychomotor development.

Children from about seven years old can participate in the Circo Ludico Pedagogico.

The classes take place several times a week and allow for a multidisciplinary exploration of circus arts.

From the age of twelve , young people have specific groups.

Teenagers who have gained more experience can join an advanced group.

Access to this group is decided by the teachers so that students have the necessary technical skills and autonomy.

This organization allows for genuine progress to be built over the years.

Educational objectives

However, the school's objectives are not limited to the acquisition of figures.

The courses aim to develop concentration and attention .

Body awareness is another essential objective.

The practice also helps to develop coordination, balance and motor skills.

Creativity plays a central role in the educational process.

Students are encouraged to experiment and find their own solutions.

Mistakes are not considered failures.

On the contrary, it becomes an opportunity for learning and expression.

This approach seeks to move children away from a constant logic of judgment.

The school favours a culture of cooperation rather than competition .

Students learn to take care of themselves, but also of their partners and equipment.

Individual responsibility thus gradually becomes a responsibility towards the group.

The major technical families

Juggling is one of the major families of techniques used in this pedagogy.

Manipulating objects helps to develop hand-eye coordination, concentration, rhythm and peripheral vision.

Balance techniques constitute another important area.

They require students to develop body awareness, stability, and perseverance.

Acrobatics helps to develop strength, mobility, spatial awareness and confidence.

Group activities also help to develop cooperation and communication.

The adapted circus

Circo Libera Tutti also possesses genuine expertise in the field of adapted circus .

This specialization is one of the most important characteristics of the association.

Adapted circus seeks to make circus techniques accessible to people with different abilities and needs.

The goal is not necessarily to adapt the person to the traditional functioning of a course.

Teachers are more focused on adapting materials, exercises and teaching methods to allow for genuine participation.

Samuele Mariotti is particularly specialized in this field.

He works as a teacher and trainer in adapted circus arts.

He is also the originator of the Auto Out project.

His expertise allows him to participate in the training of other professionals in the sector.

Circo Libera Tutti has thus developed over the years a practice combining neurotypical students and people with disabilities.

This inclusive approach is not a peripheral activity.

It is one of the founding principles of the association.

During the 2018-2019 year, the association's various regular activities, for example, welcomed around 250 students , both neurotypical and with disabilities.

The target audience consisted mainly of children and young people aged six to twenty.

School interventions and social project

Circo Libera Tutti's activities extend far beyond the classes organized in its hall in Montelupo Fiorentino.

The association develops numerous projects in schools.

These interventions use circus arts as educational tools .

For the 2018-2019 school year alone, school projects involved approximately 1,500 students .

The themes addressed include social inclusion, active citizenship and the development of community ties.

The circus allows us to create situations in which children must experiment with different ways of solving a problem.

The disciplines develop oculomotor and visuospatial coordination.

They also allow for the exploration of perception, movement, and manipulation.

Facial and body expression is part of the process.

Working in small groups promotes shared rules, mutual support and a friendly atmosphere.

Students also learn to observe others and to observe themselves.

The presentation sessions allow us to showcase the results of the work accomplished.

They can help to strengthen confidence and self-esteem.

Pedagogy also seeks to value forms of expression that do not necessarily correspond to conventional models.

This philosophy makes the circus particularly interesting in groups composed of participants with very different skills.

Everyone can find a discipline or way of participating that better suits their abilities.

An international experience

Circo Libera Tutti also has extensive international experience.

Stefano Bertelli began his artistic training in theatre before becoming a circus teacher.

In particular, he participated in the development of Antitesi Teatro Circo in 2003 , one of the first circus schools in Tuscany.

He then worked for several years on educational circus projects in schools.

His career also led him to the international social circus.

He notably participated in a project developed in the underprivileged neighborhoods of Nairobi , Kenya.

In 2010 , he obtained university training dedicated to circus arts applied to motor sciences at the University of Rome Tor Vergata .

He then became a trainer in the field of recreational and educational circus arts.

He also participates in Italian and European networks dedicated to circus pedagogy.

Circo Libera Tutti thus plays a role that goes beyond that of a local school.

Its leaders are involved in training other teachers and circus operators.

They also contributed to the development of national networks.

Stefano Bertelli was notably co-director of the CircoSfera project.

Samuele Mariotti, for his part, is involved in training courses dedicated to adapted circus.

This expertise allows Circo Libera Tutti to participate in national discussions on circus teaching methods.

The 2026-2027 season

The association continues to develop its local activities in parallel.

The 2026-2027 season confirms that the Montelupo Fiorentino school is still fully active.

Classes resumed in September 2026 .

A week of discovery open to all preceded the start of the regular groups.

Activities mainly take place from Monday to Thursday .

The facility also offers courses for adults.

Open training slots are available to adults and young people who are sufficiently independent.

This option allows practitioners to continue their training outside of supervised classes.

Circo Libera Tutti also remains heavily involved in major Italian social circus projects.

The association participates in particular in the Re-Play – Circo, reti, crescita giovanile program.

This project brings together several important structures from Lombardy, Tuscany and Lazio.

It is coordinated by Giocolieri & Dintorni with the CircoSfera and AltroCirco networks.

Its objective is to develop the active participation of young people and to strengthen territorial networks through circus arts.

Circo Libera Tutti rubs shoulders with Antitesi, BadaBam, Spazio Circo Bergamo, Spazio Kabum, Accademia Materiaviva and Circo Svago.

This presence confirms the association's place among the Italian structures particularly active in the field of educational and social circus.

Location and teaching staff

Throughout its history, Circo Libera Tutti has also developed activities in several municipalities of Empolese Valdelsa and neighboring territories.

Montelupo Fiorentino nevertheless remains its historical location and its main point of reference.

The school now has a space within the Scuola Baccio da Montelupo .

This location allows us to maintain regular activity throughout the year.

The teaching team consists of instructors trained in teaching circus arts.

Several have completed Italian and European professional training.

Some have themselves become trainers at the national or European level.

This focus on teacher training is an important element of the project.

Circo Libera Tutti seeks to use circus arts with a genuine educational methodology.

The association does not consider that being an artist is automatically sufficient to teach children or to work with audiences requiring special support.

Knowledge of educational and social processes therefore plays an essential role.

A strong identity

After fifteen years of activity , Circo Libera Tutti thus represents a particularly interesting school in the Tuscan circus landscape.

His activities combine regular classes, amateur practice, training, school interventions, pedagogical training and social projects.

Its specialization in adapted circus gives it a particularly strong identity.

The structure shows how juggling, balance and acrobatics can become much more than technical disciplines.

They become tools for developing autonomy, creativity, cooperation and confidence .

This inclusive and non-competitive design is at the heart of the Circo Libera Tutti project.