Corpi Pazzi – Palestra Popolare & Scuola di Circo

Corpi Pazzi is a circus school, a popular venue and a socio-educational project located in Rome within the CSOA La Torre.

The Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Corpi Pazzi – Palestra Popolare was officially created in January 2007 .

Its story begins in an old hayloft at the community center.

Long unusable, the building has gradually been rehabilitated and transformed into a space dedicated to physical, educational and circus activities.

This origin remains important for understanding the identity of Corpi Pazzi.

The project was not designed as a traditional commercial gym.

The organization, on the contrary, advocates the principle of " popular sport ".

The goal is to make quality physical and artistic activity accessible to as many people as possible.

Economic accessibility is an important component of this approach.

Corpi Pazzi considers the practice of sport as a right .

The association therefore seeks to maintain activities accessible to the inhabitants of an area where educational and recreational services are relatively few.

This philosophy gradually allowed the place to become a true circus school.

Today, Corpi Pazzi welcomes more than 250 members each year.

The circus for children and teenagers

The circus for children and teenagers is one of the main pillars of the project.

The school is developing an approach known as "circo ludico-educativo".

Circus arts are therefore used both as artistic disciplines and as educational tools.

The children learn different techniques.

But the goal is not limited to the successful execution of a single move.

• The circus allows you to discover your body.
• It promotes coordination.
• It develops concentration.
• He learns to persevere.
• It also allows one to experience cooperation with others.

The MicroCirco

This approach begins particularly early.

Corpi Pazzi is currently developing the MicroCirco for two and three year old children.

The sessions are organized with the presence of a parent.

Very young children can thus gradually discover the circus world in a safe environment.

• They handle circus props adapted to their age.
• The activities aim to develop gross motor skills.
• Fine motor skills are also required.
• The children discover unusual movements and positions.
• Creativity is another important objective.

The presence of a parent allows the child to explore freely while maintaining emotional security.

MicroCirco sessions intentionally accommodate small groups .

This first experience serves as an introduction before the real fun and educational circus courses.

Historical age groups

Historically, the school has structured its teaching into several age groups.

• The Piccolissimo Circo notably hosted the four and five year olds.
• The Piccolo Circo was for children aged approximately six to eight years old.
• The All'inCirco course allowed the nine to eleven year olds to continue.
• A Circo Ragazze/i group has been developed for twelve to fourteen year olds.
• Finally, Young Circus offered continuity to teenagers and young people up to about nineteen years old.

This organization demonstrates genuine educational progress.

The children are not simply mixed together in a single discovery class.

The content and pace may change with age.

Teenagers have more practice time.

They can gradually deepen their technique and autonomy.

This continuity is particularly interesting in an amateur circus school.

It helps to keep young people involved in the sport during adolescence.

The activity for adults

Corpi Pazzi is also developing a significant activity aimed at adults.

The structure defines itself as a training place for adult circus performers and acrobats.

The historical and current courses cover several major families.

Ground acrobatics

Ground acrobatics plays an important role.

Practitioners can work on rolls, reversals, cartwheels, roundoffs and various forms of acrobatic jumps.

The school has the equipment to allow for this progress.

• The mini-trampoline is one example.
• A track and various landing mats allow acrobatic elements to be practiced in good conditions.

Aerial acrobatics

Aerial acrobatics is another important specialty of Corpi Pazzi.

Courses have historically been offered from beginner to advanced level.

This progression allows for both discovery and in-depth technical knowledge.

The internships and workshops organized by the structure also demonstrate a high level of practice.

• Corpi Pazzi has notably hosted workshops dedicated to aerial silks and rope .
• Aerial hoop workshops were also organized.
• Juggling is part of the structure's history.
• The Chinese pole was also featured in the regular programs.

This diversity allows Corpi Pazzi to function both as an amateur school and as a practice space for artists and circus performers who already have experience.

In fact, self-sufficient training spaces have historically complemented supervised classes.

The place thus plays a role in the Roman Circassian community that goes beyond the education intended for children.

• Artists can train there.
• External speakers may offer masterclasses.
• Advanced practitioners can participate in specialized training courses.

Corpi Pazzi thus occasionally hosts teachers and artists with significant professional experience.

This opening maintains the link between amateur practice, contemporary circus and the professional community.

Teacher training is also one of the activities claimed by the structure.

Corpi Pazzi presents itself today as a territorial reference point for motor education and the training of circus teachers.

This dimension reinforces its educational identity.

Engagement in the social circus

However, the project has another essential characteristic: its commitment to social circus .

Corpi Pazzi is listed in the Italian register of social circus projects of AltroCirco .

This affiliation is fully consistent with its history and objectives.

The organization uses sport and circus arts to promote social cohesion.

Solidarity is one of its fundamental values.

The association insists on the idea that no one should be left behind.

Learning is therefore viewed from a collective perspective.

Accessibility is a second principle.

The organization rejects a logic where quality physical activities would be reserved for people with the necessary economic means.

On the contrary, the project seeks to maintain prices and conditions that allow for the broadest possible participation.

Physical education is also associated with autonomy.

For Corpi Pazzi, learning to know one's own body contributes to the ability to build oneself and make one's own choices.

The popular hall also promotes values of anti-racism and equality .

The encounter between different cultures and backgrounds is considered an asset.

Motor activity then becomes a way to create relationships between people.

This social orientation is not purely theoretical.

Corpi Pazzi participates in concrete projects using the circus as a tool for encounter.

In 2025 , for example, the organization participated in social circus activities with young Palestinians from the Shatila camp as part of an exchange project led by Un Ponte Per .

The circus then served as a space for play, relationship and sharing.

This involvement confirms that the social dimension of the project goes beyond just weekly classes.

A summer activity and a territorial presence

Corpi Pazzi also develops a significant summer business.

The hall serves as a covered space for a leisure center that is mainly organized outdoors.

Each year, it welcomes many children.

The continuity between annual courses, summer activities and educational interventions allows the project to maintain a lasting link with families in the neighborhood.

This territorial presence is one of Corpi Pazzi's great strengths.

The school does not function as an isolated structure.

It belongs to a larger social and cultural space.

The CSOA La Torre hosts various initiatives.

The presence of the circus school in this environment allows for encounters with other cultural, educational and associative practices.

The history of the place also contributes to its identity.

A former unused building has gradually become a space frequented each year by several hundred people.

The circus played a major role in this transformation.

• Children can start at a very young age.
• Teenagers can continue their practice.
• Adults can discover or deepen their knowledge of several disciplines.
• Experienced circus performers have a training area.
• External artists come to share their specialty during workshops.
• And teachers can themselves deepen their teaching skills there.

A comprehensive but non-vocational school

Corpi Pazzi therefore constitutes a particularly comprehensive structure despite its popular and associative positioning.

However, it should not be confused with a professional circus school.

The association does not offer higher education courses or selective annual programs designed to directly prepare for an artist's career.

Its primary purpose remains amateur, educational and social .

The advanced and professional practitioners who frequent the gym constitute another aspect of its activity.

For the NetJuggler directory

According to the NetJuggler directory, Corpi Pazzi represents a particularly interesting Roman circus school.

Its age is already a notable factor: the project has officially existed since 2007 .

His educational journey begins today at two years old with MicroCirco.

The history of the school then shows a continuity up to the adolescents and young adults.

Adults have their own practices.

Ground acrobatics, aerial acrobatics, juggling, Chinese pole and various specialized disciplines have built up a true circus culture over the years.

But the distinctive feature of Corpi Pazzi lies above all in the way these disciplines are used.

The circus simultaneously becomes an artistic practice, a physical activity, an educational tool, and an instrument of social cohesion.

With over 250 annual members and a lasting presence in northeast Rome, Corpi Pazzi is today a true place for circus and popular life.