Photo: Stendhal55, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Museum, 1975
Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino
Italian puppetry museum
At a glance
- Type
- Museum
- Period
- Modern era, 1975
- Area
- 900 m²
- Protection
- Italian national heritage
- Coordinates
- 38°07′07″ N, 13°22′15″ E
- Address
- Piazzetta Antonio Pasqualino, 5, 90133 Palermo
History and description
The Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum of Palermo operates in the field of national and international, traditional and contemporary puppetry.
Founded in 1975 by the Association for the Conservation of Popular Traditions, it houses a vast collection of over 5,000 pieces, including marionettes, hand puppets, shadow puppets, and stage machines from all over the world. Among these, the museum preserves the largest and most complete collection of pupi of the Palermo, Catania, and Neapolitan type and constitutes a center for the safeguarding, conservation, enhancement, promotion and dissemination of the heritage linked to this theatrical practice which is representative of the identity of the territory.
The collection is enriched by numerous materials used in the other puppet traditions that, as well as Sicilian Opera dei pupi, have been declared by UNESCO as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity as well as contemporary artists' puppets created as part of the museum's new productions.
History
The history of the museum is inextricably linked to Antonio Pasqualino, who died in 1995. He was a surgeon and an anthropologist from Palermo. He was a son of the painter Lia Noto and of Guglielmo Pasqualino di Marineo. Pasqualino in the second half of the Twentieth century worked to safeguard, promote and revitalize the Opera dei Pupi in a period of profound crisis for this theatrical practice. In 1965, together with a group of high-brows, he founded the Association for the Conservation of Popular Traditions and, together with his wife, Janne Vibaek collected many testimonies: from stage texts to puppets, theaters and furnishings, saving them from destruction and oblivion.
The economic and social transformation of Italy and Sicily in the middle of the last century caused the distancing of the traditional audience – mainly made up of men from the lower classes, who began to no longer mirror themselves in the models conveyed by the stories and characters of the shows. Empty of their traditional public, the puppeteers from all over Sicily began to close their theaters in search of more profitable activities, often selling or giving away their so-called "mestiere", or the set of theatrical props necessary for the staging of the shows.
After ten years of activity, the association founded the International Puppet Museum, in 1975, with the aim of restoring the heritage that Antonio Pasqualino had acquired in the meantime to Italian citizens: a “mestiere” of the Opera dei pupi pertaining to the Palermo school, belonging to the historic family of Gaspare Canino; and one of the Catania school, coming from the theater of Natale Meli.
In the opening year, the first Review of the Opera dei pupi was organized, to which puppeteers from all over Sicily were invited to participate annually. The goal was to strengthen the relationship between Sicilian puppeteers and the public, thus favoring the transmission – still entrusted to orality today – of the vast wealth of knowledge of which they were and are custodians. …
The collection
The exhibition itinerary dysplays a collection consisting of over 5,000 animated figures (pupi, marionettes, hand puppets, shadow puppets), theatrical props and billboards, from Italy and from abroad. Some of them are used the eight traditional puppet theatres of different cultures and countries, that as well as Sicilian Opera dei Pupi, were declared by UNESCO "Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity", and some contemporary artist's puppets created for the museum's new productions.
The first nuclei of the museum's collection were formed around the Sicilian Opera dei pupi. Today the museum houses the largest and most complete collection of pupi from Palermo, Catania and Naples and, among other things, it preserves the complete set of materials from three Opera dei pupi theaters: one of the Palermo tradition, which belonged to Gaspare Canino from Alcamo; one of the Catania tradition, which belonged to Natale Meli of Reggio Calabria; one of Neapolitan tradition that belonged to the Perna family of Frattamaggiore. The oldest pupo in the museum is "Carinda", dated to 1828 and once belonged to the Canino family. According to this family oral tradition, this marionette was the first armored pupo built by Don Liberto Canino.
The museum also exhibits other collections declared by UNESCO as "Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity": the Japanese Ningyo Johruri Bunraku, the Indonesian Wayang kulit, the Cambodian shadow theater Sbek Thom, the puppet-masks of Nigeria-Benin called Gelede, Korea's puppet theater Namsadang Nori – Kkoktu-gaksi Norum, Turkish Karagöz and Sri Lanka's Rūkada Nātya puppets.
The collection includes marionettes and hand puppets from Northern Italy, Southern Italy (such as the Neapolitan guarrattelle and Sicilian tutui) and other European countries. The museum also exhibits numerous examples from Asia: Indian shadow puppets, Javanese rod puppets (Wayang golek) and two-dimensional figures (Wayang Klitik), string puppets from Burma (Yoke thai tabin) and India (Kathputli), water puppets from Vietnam (Mua roi nuoc), shadow puppets of Malaysia, Siam, and China. A rare puppet is from the New Hebrides (Temes nevinbur). …
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino».
Timeline
- 1975Founded
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
Palermo CentraleTrain, nearest
1.1 km as the crow flies
Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio PasqualinoPiazzetta Antonio Pasqualino, 5, 90133 Palermo
Palermo (Liberty Lines)800 m
Aeroporto di Palermo Falcone e Borsellino24.5 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore museums in Sicily
- UNESCO
Frequently asked questions
Where is Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino?
Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino is in Palermo, in the province of Palermo (Sicily), Italy. Address: Piazzetta Antonio Pasqualino, 5, 90133 Palermo. GPS coordinates: 38.11855, 13.37071.
What are the opening hours of Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino?
According to OpenStreetMap the opening hours are: Sunday and Monday: 10:00–14:00; Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00–18:00. Always check the official website before your visit.
How much does it cost to visit Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino?
There is an admission charge. Up-to-date prices are on the official website.
Is Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino wheelchair accessible?
According to OpenStreetMap data, the site is wheelchair accessible.
How old is Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino?
Wikidata dates it to 1975.
What else is there to see near Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino?
Nearby you’ll find: Palazzo Butera (100 m away), Hotel de France (100 m away), Palazzo Chiaramonte (100 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 3 photos
- Museo delle Marionette — Stendhal55, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino 01 — Iopensa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Palermo - Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino (15500) — HaguardDuNord, CC BY 4.0
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences