Created in Sicily more than 200 years ago, its plots, based on medieval epics, emphasize values such as courage, loyalty, friendship, and its characters reflect behavioral paradigms that have managed to have a marked impact on people from the very beginning.
Two famous puppeteers, Gaetano Greco and Liberto Canino, were courting audiences on the Sicilian stages at the time, and it was from the rivalry between them that these armed figures and innovative handling techniques were born, which gave a special mark to this art.
According to historians, however, its origins date back to the 4th century BC. in the works of the puppeteers of Syracuse, in Sicily, and in the 16th century when romances of chivalry were staged in this way across Europe. Valuable pieces in their own right, wooden dolls or dolls are displayed in museums around the world and can measure up to 130 centimeters tall and weigh 30 kilograms. They are notable for the expressiveness of their faces, as well as their sumptuous copper or brass breastplates, beautifully decorated.
In these theaters, mostly small family businesses, the puppeteers or pupari carve, draw and decorate their puppies and two modalities are recognized, that of Palermo and that of Catania, which differ in the size and form of design that these little actors give , as well as the techniques they use to manipulate them.
Although this artistic manifestation faced a crisis in the mid-20th century, it managed to stay alive in Sicily as a traditional heritage and in 2018 the puppeteer groups joined the Italian network of organizations for the protection, promotion and valorization of opera together deiPupi.
This autochthonous show is currently considered the only example of uninterrupted transmission of this type of theater, even if nowadays the orientation of the Opera deiPupi to tourism leads to a reduction in quality and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the puppets to make a living from art.
(From Cuarta Pared, Orbe Cultural Supplement)