On stage
Where tradition turns into enchantment
The soul of a Sicily outside time.
1 min read
All issuesThe soul of a Sicily outside time.
Born in the nineteenth century, the Opera dei Pupi is the traditional Sicilian marionette theatre. Epic, swords, dream and magic — recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
For Sicilians it is not simply a show. It is a living account of our history and our popular identity, a weave of epic stories that has accompanied whole generations.
The pupi, with their detailed armour and expressive faces, tell stories drawn from medieval and Renaissance literature — from the Paladins of France to Shakespeare — mixing history, legend and folklore. The pupari, craftsmen and storytellers at once, brought carved wooden puppets to life across narrative cycles that ran for months. The performances, born in working-class districts, were moments of intense shared feeling, where the audience lived the magic of a collective rite.
The Opera dei Pupi can still be seen and touched today. In Catania, the Antica Bottega dei Fratelli Napoli — at via Reitano 55 — is a workshop and theatre where the tradition has been handed down through generations, with guided visits and live performances. In Palermo, Mimmo Cuticchio and his association Figli d’Arte Cuticchio go on preserving and renewing this form, among its most important custodians.