Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (International Puppet Museum)

Piazzetta Niscemi 1

About

For those who are into puppets (or pupi, as the Sicilians say), this is the greatest museum of its kind in the world. In their shiny armor and with their stern expressions, these marionettes remain as an evocation of Norman Sicily, an era of legendary chivalry and troubadours. In the world of the puppet, the exploits of William the Bad (1120-66) and others live on, as do the legends of Charlemagne and the swashbuckling Saracen pirates. All of the puppets on display are handmade antiques, some of them centuries old, from Sicily as well as other parts of Italy. Most were used at one time in the opera de pupi, a local tradition fast dying out. The collection also includes puppets crafted in other parts of the world, notably Indonesia, India, and other countries from the Far East, as well as the English "Punch and Judy." The most outstanding artisan represented here is Gaspara Canino, who achieved fame with his theater puppets in the 1800s.
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