Elvira Guerra (; 2 December 1855 – 26 October 1937) was an Italian equestrienne and

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

performer, notable for competing at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

, the first Games at which women were allowed to compete. She was the first woman to represent Italy at the Olympics.

Life

Guerra was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

around 1855, daughter of circus performer Rodolfo Guerra. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' mentions her in an 1882 article on Hengler's Grand Cirque. In 1890, she opened the Grand Hippodrome in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. In May 1900, she was one of three female riders who competed in the hacks and hunter combined (''chevaux de selle'') during the International Horse Show in Paris. The show was part of the Exposition Universelle, and the equestrian events were later classified as part of the

. Riding the horse Libertin, she finished outside the top four. She died in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in 1937. A street in

is named Rue Elvira Guerra in her honour.

References

External links

* 1855 births 1937 deaths Olympic equestrians for Italy Equestrians at the 1900 Summer Olympics Italian female equestrians Italian circus performers Italian expatriates in the Russian Empire 19th-century circus performers 20th-century circus performers {{Italy-equestrian-bio-stub