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Puppets, Pinocchio, Marionettes, and Masks |
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| Discover Italy Newsletter |
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in this issue
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Greetings,
Italy is the home of many of our theatrical
traditions. Punch and Judy hand puppets originated in
Italy with Pulcinella puppet shows which you can see in
Italy today. Pinocchio started life as a marionette
puppet.
Beautiful venetian maskes represent the same
characters seen in puppet shows and are worn during
carnival
festivals, Lenten celebrations that "morphed" from the
ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia.
Freely forward this Discover Italy Newsletter in
its entirety. At the very bottom of the newsletter you
will find a forward link to make it easy. (c) Copyright
Kids Europe 2004.
Mr. Punch = Pulchinella
The character of Pulcinella, Punch in English, originated
in Italy with the
popular theater Commedia dell'Arte in the 1500s. Other
standard characters are his wife, called Judy in English,
the Baby, the Doctor, the Policeman, and the
Crocodile.
Here are some internet places where
you can see the puppets and learn more about them:
Italian Puppet company and
Punch and Judy history
You will find puppet theaters in large public parks in
Italy. In Rome, on summer afternoons, they are staged
on the Gianicolo, Janiculum, hill. If you see a puppet
theater, do stop and watch one
of these goofy, slapstick shows. You don't need to
understand Italian, the plot is obvious: Punch
(Pulcinella) does something insanely stupid or really
bad, his
nagging wife Judy catches him, and he gets into big
trouble. Now you know where the plots for TV shows
come from.
When you watch one of these puppet shows, you'll see
Punch, Judy, and their
friends committing some heavy, cartoon-type violence!
In the 1700s people were as concerned about violence
in puppetry as we are about violence on TV.
Comic books are the perfect literary medium for Punch
and Judy; these two comic books turn tale of Mr Punch
into a surreal adventure:
The Comical Tragedy of Punch and Judy and
Punch and Judy: A Grand Guignol
A kid's mystery centered on a Punch and Judy
show:
Pebbledown Bay 2: The Punch and Judy Mystery
Perform your own puppet shows
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Italy Discovery Journal Feedback |
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Thanks to reader Kathy S, who just sent this note:
Hi -
Just wanted to let you know that I printed out the Italy
Journal and had it cut and bound, and its just
wonderful! My family is leaving for Italy on Wednesday,
and my kids were very excited to read about Italy in a
book they could understand and appreciate. What a
great idea...
The Italy Discovery Journal is for kids to use to
discover Italy for themselves. The ideas in the Journal
are often about popular culture and interesting and
wierd insights into history. As one customer told me, "If
we get a single idea to improve a few hours of our
vacation, then it will be worth it!"
Learn about the Italy Discovery Journal »
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Pinocchio |
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Pinocchio started life as a puppet with strings, a
marionette. The classic marionette characters also derive from the Comedia
dell'Arte.
Venice and Florence are great places to look for
marionettes. The quality of
the art and execution is hard to find anywhere else.
Lord of the Rings illustrator Greg Hildebrandt illuminates
the classic
The Adventures of Pinocchio.
See this
2002 version of the Pinocchio story produced
in Italy:
Pinocchio
Rent it from Netflix.
In Tuscany, not too far from Florence in the town of
Collodi (the author of Pinocchio took the name of the
town as his pen name), you will find the old-fashioned
Pinocchio amusement park.
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Marionettes |
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Back again to the Comedia dell'Arte for the source of
the
characters that populate marionette puppet shows.
While looking for books for you, I came across several
good books that introduce kids to international cultures
through games and play. Italy shares the book with
other countries and cultures. Each game or drama tells
you how to play and provides insights into history and
culture.
Kids Around the World Play! : The Best Fun and Games
from Many Lands
Kids Around the World Celebrate! : The Best Feasts and
Festivals from Many Lands that features Venice's
Carnevale.
I admire many Usborne series. They are full of fun
intricacies without talking down to kids. Here is their
book on puppets:
The Usborne Book of Puppets.
Visit the Puppet
Museum in Parma that displays pieces produced and carved by the Ferrari
family as well as other puppets of foreign origin, either collected,
purchased or donated by artists. Over 500 puppets, marionettes, heads,
sceneries, photographs and posters and much more are displayed in this
magical setting. The exhibition layout features stock characters from the
Commedia dell'Arte and local traditions and styles from various artists .
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Venetian Masks |
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Carnival in Venice is a magical time. People dress in
ancient costumes that hark back to old, archetypical characters in Italian theater, the Commedia dell'Arte.
You
don't have to go at Carnival, Carnevale, to
enjoy and even collect the creative and elegant masks.
When you go to Venice, look for mask shops. Some
even will demonstrate how the masks are made.
Miniature and ceramic versions of the masks make good
souvenirs and items of decoration.
Many mask shops have websites, for example:
Fenice, to tour more photos simply enter a web
search for "Venetian masks" and you will find amazingly
diverse collections of masks and costumes.
A Thumbnail History of the Commedia d'Arte,
follow the links at the bottom of the page to find
descriptions of the main characters in the Commedia
together with paper cutouts of actors and their
costumes. Further resources on the Commedia d'Arte
follow.
Lazzi: The Comic Routines of the Commedia d'Arte
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Interesting
Words |
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A slapstick is a stick used in the Pulcinella, Punch and
Judy, shows that makes a great noise when it hits the
wooden head of a puppet.
When Punch delivers his line, "That's the way to do it!"
(in English), his "punch line," he's as "pleased as
Punch." So now you know where those phrases came
from.
The word puppet derives from the Italian word
pupa for baby or doll. Pupazzo is the
Italian word for puppet or marionette.
If you are into bugs, you'll know that the pupa is one of
the immature stages of insect development.
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Train Travel in Italy |
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Train travel throughout Europe is fun
for kids
and easy on parents. You can get to almost any town
in
Italy in comfort. No navigating, no parking hassles.
You will have a chance to meet other passengers and
view the countryside as it rolls by. You can easily
stretch your legs and enjoy a yummy box lunch
purchased from a vendor.
Consider taking a
sleeper train between major European cities. Children
will love the experience of sleeping on bunks in a
train. You'll save a night's lodging and wake up at your
destination. This rail site offers rails passes and point-
to-point ticketing and reservations, go to "Fares &
Schedules" to get point-to-point information.
Kids love to travel by train in Italy... »
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