WHEN I WAS A KID, PUPPET SHOWS CREEPED ME OUT. I’d make a run from the birthday party as soon as a scary grownup got up to hide behind a dark curtain. So I never sought out Italian puppet shows. But there I was in Naples, in a great mood because I’d just eaten a sfogliatelle, the seashell-shaped pastry the city is deservedly famous for.
Timing is everything. A dinky portable puppet stage appeared right on the Via Toledo route that led to the apartment I’d rented. Mammas and bambini crowded around it, clapping and laughing. I stopped and saw Pulcinella, the rascal clown who’s the mascot of Naples, get whacked in the head by a signorina puppet. I laughed. I was cured. And hooked.
Italian puppet shows are hysterical spectacles that have a Warner Brother’s cartoon-like style. They’re great fun even if you aren’t a kid and don’t know a word of Italian. They’ll pop up spontaneously in parks or can be found elaborately produced in theaters, with locals of all ages making up a rapt audience.
The puppet tradition in Italy goes back thousands of years, and though the shows are full of laughs, creating them is taken very seriously, with artists crafting characters, sets, costumes and music to make enchantment.
The characters and stories you’ll see will depend on the region you visit. In Naples, you’ll always find Pulcinella, whose name translates to “little chicken.” He’s the hook-nosed guy in the baggy white costume who’s always causing trouble. Sometimes he’s making a play for the perky servant gal, Colombina, who’s traditionally dressed showing lots of cleavage and typically turns the story around by saving the day with some tricky smart move. Tambourines rattle, there is much whacking with sticks—its rhythm blends with the mercurial Neapolitan spirit.
In Palermo, right across from the Cattedrale, you can see grand puppet opera created by the Argento family that’s been in the biz since 1893. Their shows tell stories of the Knights of Charlemagne battling the Saracens, with marionettes dressed in fancy armor saving damsels in distress. I’ll never forget watching one of their action packed finales: Knights charged a king, split his head open with their swords, each head-half plonked to the stage, and then in rushed a clown marionette to cheer the happy ending.
Puppet Theater worth checking out:
Rome
Sicily
In these theatres you’ll experience Puppet Opera and workshops carried on by families for generations.
Opera dei Pupi di Vincenzo Argento e figli, Via Pietro Novelli 4A, near the Cathedral.
Figli D’Arte Cuticchio, Via Bara all’Olivella 95, www.figlidartecuticchio.com.
Teatro Carlo Magno, Via Collegio di Maria 17, www.mancusopupi.it.
Via Collegio di Maria 17, www.teatrodeipupisiracusa.it.
Milan
Parma