The Piccolo Zoppe Italian Family Circus has returned to Hot Springs (AR) for the first time in years. The 180-year-old European-style circus runs until Sunday near the entrance to Hot Springs Memorial Field. "No audience member is more than 18 feet from the actual circus ring," Tosca Zoppe, the circus' equestrian, said. "The horses galloping by -- you can actually feel the rush of the air as they go by."

The Piccolo Zoppe Circus uses one ring as opposed to the three-ring configuration that most American circuses employ. The Zoppe legacy began in 1842 in Italy after a "French clown and a Hungarian equestrian ballerina met in Hungary and fell in love." The couple emigrated to Italy and started the circus that still performs to this day.