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# 70 • OCTOBER 19 , 2015
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ITALIAN HANDCRAFTS:
Sicilian Puppets
By Camera di Commercio di Catania with Unioncamere
The Sicilian Puppet Theatre (Opra) is a characteristic theatre performance
where the puppets, animated by “puppeteers”, represent the exploits of the
greatest medieval heroes
who fought for Christendom against the Saracens.
In particular, the most recurrent theme in the Opra
was the clash between the
paladins of Charlemagne
and the Muslim warriors
who occupied the Iberian
Peninsula, representing a
real threat to the Frankish
kingdom and the whole of
Christian Europe.
According to historical tradition, puppet theatre on
the subject of chivalry was
already known in Spain in
1500s, was introduced to
France in the seventeenth century and spread to
Italy (Sicily) from the city
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of Naples in the early decades of the 19th century.
On the island it quickly acquired specific characteristics that made the Opera
dei Pupi stand out from
the generic art of puppetry.
The Sicilian puppets were
in fact covered with elaborate metal armour and the
right hand wire director
was replaced by an iron
rod, more suitable for making the puppets' movements direct and precise,
especially during fights
and duels. Even the moral
issues proposed during
the shows, always based
on a high sense of justice
and respect for freedom,
were a hallmark of the
Opera dei Pupi, which was
well in tune with the mood
of the Sicilians and thus
enjoyed great popularity.
As has often happened in
the history and culture of
Sicily, the Opera dei Pupi
had its centres of interest
in the two major cities of
the island, where two important theatrical traditions, those of Palermo
and Catania, can be distinguished.In both cities,
experienced puppeteers
taking short stories of predominantly oral tradition
as a base, ingeniously
adapted and personalised them, proposing plots
taken from ancient chivalric literature, in which the
Carolingian cycle had a
predominant role with the
History of the Paladins of
France.
The show, which lasted
about two hours in three
acts, relived the loves and
the deeds of kings, heroic Christian champions,