The plots of the stories exhibited in the opera dei pupi are based on medieval literature. Many of those adventure tales feature knights who participate in the crusades, such as Roland from The Song of Roland. The bad guys of these stories are usually non-Christians who are generally called Saracens.

Know that, when you are at the UNESCO recognized opera dei pupi, you don’t have to understand Italian to follow the action! You can identify the bad guys by their dark skin, the crescent moons and stars on their shields, and the fact that they enter into the action from the right side of the stage.