i Sebastiani - Miming
 
Miming

Many excellent practioners of Commedia dell' Arte connect it closely with mime, to the degree that mime skills are taught as a basic tool of doing Commedia as an actor. With that in mind, we include here some links with commentary to sites for groups, schools, or other academic descriptions of miming. In general, we, as a troupe, have not made any formal use of miming, except unwittingly with native talents. None-the-less we do not dispute the value of mime skills; we are merely not very knowledgeable.

 
Pierre Ducharte, in his book "The Italian Comedy" says that miming skill is necessary because the mask hides facial expression.
Mime study guide by TRENT ARTERBERRY & BEV SAWATZKY
Mime and movement study guide by Richard Hayes-Marshall
 

The moving image is from the Jacques LeCoq tribute site.