PUPI SICILIANI

History
The Sicilian marionette theatre, better known as Opera dei Pupi, found inspiration for the development of its very distinctive repertoire in the medieval cycles of legends, e.g. the Chronicle of Charlemagne and the Chanson de Roland.
The adventures of the heroes of the epics of chivalry – the paladins of Charlemagne – are the main subject of the Opera dei Pupi. The legends of the lives and deaths of Orlando (Roland), Rinaldo (Renaud), the fair Angelica, the bloodthirsty Saracen warriors, the treacherous Gano (Ganelon), and of magicians and monsters of every sort enabled the spectators, who returned night after night for months on end as they followed the episodes of the puppet-show, to relive the hopes, the victories and the defeats of their own daily lives.
With their roots in the era of Crusades, the episodes of this long saga are based on the opposition between Christians and Saracens embodying the everlasting fight between good and evil.
Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino
The Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino, located in Palermo, has collected a large number of Pupi from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – from the time when the Opera dei Pupi acquired the form in which it is known today.

The museum presents the two schools in which the Tradition of the Opera dei Pupi can be divided: one in Catania and one in Palermo, which differs from the one in Catania by smaller marionettes with jointed knees. The Pupi differ from the majority of marionettes by their ornate breast plates made of nickel or silver brass. The elaborately decorated armour serves to identify the various characters.
The company Teatroarte Cuticchio
One of the most important groups of Sicilian puppeteers is the company Teatroarte Cuticchio from Palermo. Giacomo Cuticchio started his activity in the 1930’s and in 1969 founded the Teatro Ippogrifo which is still situated in Vicolo Ragusi. The company has ever since been faithful to the purest tradition of Sicilian puppetry both in the repertory and in the manipulation and is nowadays directed by Girolamo Cuticchio who has transmitted to his children Carmelo, Giacomo, Michele and Teresa the same love for the puppets that he learned from his father.
They have often performed abroad (France, Spain, Denmark, USA, Mexico, Venezuela, Canada) and everywhere they captured their audience, no matter what language they spoke

Their repertory includes many episodes, e.g. Il Gran Duello di Orlando e Rinaldo per Amore della bella Angelica (The great duel of Orlando and Ronaldo for the love of the beautiful Angelica), or La Rotta di Roncisvalle (The defeat of Roncesvalle).
Among the most acclaimed is The Siege Of Paris, which narrates a battle between the Saracen King Miriante, threatening to enter the city of Paris, and Charlemagne, who refuses to surrender and finally destroys the Saracens due to the bravery of Rinaldo and Orlando.

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