The marionette, or pupo, Orlando from the UNESCO recognized marionette theater, l’Opera dei pupi…a cultural treasure of Sicily
Tag: knight
Look For These Clues
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…
Enter Stage Left
In the opera dei pupi, Sicily’s UNESCO recognized marionette theater, you can recognize the good guys because their shields possess suns and birds and they enter from stage left.
The Artistry of the Opera dei Pupi
Yesterday, our last official day of our Enchanting Sicily tour, we spent the evening in Palermo seeing the UNESCO recognized Opera dei Pupi at the Argento family’s theater. I’ve become such a fan of this whimsical form of entertainment! When you allow yourself to be a kid, you will be amazed by Orlando’s adventures and…
Artistry and Imagination in Palermo
We saw so much today! Palermo is bustling with new bars, cafès, and boutiques, it’s so exciting to be here. So much new, yes, but the traditional still tugs my heart–for example, the performance of the Opera dei Pupi we saw presented by the Argento Family. Wow! What fun to see Orlando and Rolando fighting…
Clues for Watching l’Opera dei Pupi
Back before television was invented and became available in many households, in many of Sicily’s towns and certainly, in its larger cities, L’Opera dei Pupi, or marionette theater, was a major pastime for men and children of the popular classes. They loved to follow the trials and tribulations of their knightly heroes. A major character…
Bagheria’s Sicilian Carts
While in Bagheria on Wednesday, we had an extraordinary meeting at the workshop of Michele Ducato, one of the last painters of Bagherese Sicilian carts. Pictured is a detail from a cart on which he’s currently working. In addition to learning about the “family business” and the construction of the carts from Michele, Giovanni Di…