Sicilian Puppet Show (UPDATE #2)

This is an updated version of the original post. Everything that is new is in this color.

Puppetry in Sicily has a long history. Currently it is an endangered art form with not many people remaining in the business. Here is a link to a brief piece of information from UNESCO on the history and origins of the puppet theatres. http://www.unesco.org/bpi/intangible_heritage/italy.htm

But there are still a few that are operational out there and I was able to go and see my first show last Friday night. The theatre we went to was operated by a very kind and talented family and there was a young man learning to do it from two older men. It was really incredible. They said they even make smaller versions and a miniature theatre so that they are able to practice it when they are small.

Brad was at a men's workshop with the chapel, but we are able to go and see another, different presentation this coming weekend. The show I saw last Friday was about the battle between the Paladins of Emporer Carlo Magno and the Saracens of King Marsilio. It was a 7-year war. The hero was the the famous Count Rolando. The traitor was Gano di Magonza. (There was also a fight with a dragon by Rolando.) At the end, before he dies, Rolando implores God to save the souls of his soldiers that died in this battle and the appearance of the angel bring him the presence of God.

We went again to the puppet show and it was the same story as last week, but this time our friends were able to go along. Our wonderful best friend Mario made up little booklets that had a pictures of the puppets on the front and the story in English on the inside so everyone would know what was going on. Next time we will see a love story, then that will probably be the last one we see for a while - unless there is one while our family is visiting.

Before the show we were able to go back stage and see the puppets up close, and also one of the men let me try to hold one up - they are extremely heavy - I could not hold it up. (this is why they make the smaller ones for the younger kids). They showed me where the puppeteers stand - above the stage - and how the puppets are maneuvered. They use some ropes and strings for intricate moves but long metal poles that are attached to the puppets for most of the major movements.

It is fascinating to watch them and they can make quite elaborate motions, including putting down their face plates on their helmuts, waving their swords around, etc. I loved every moment of it even though I did not understand what they were saying. It was kind of a violent story and during the worst part where the battles were being fought, quite a few puppets lost their heads (which is typical). One of them even was cut in half. The hero died in the end and coughed up a lot of blood (red paint?). But it was a really incredible show and I was totally engaged the entire time and found it extremely entertaining. Highly recommended as something to see if you ever have a chance to see an authentic show.

If you have high speed internet, it's worth clicking on the pictures of the puppets to see them up close. They are really elaborate and beautifully made. And you can see the girl soldier too (she was not in this particular story however...)

These puppets were made in WWII. When the Americans came to Sicily, the puppet masters would take the used soup cans of the soldiers, make the puppets and sell them to the soldiers. A single puppet could feed their family for an entire week.

mount etna

WOW!! Mount Etna was erupting like crazy the other night. It has now been reported that lava was shooting 700 meters into the air. Most of the Sicilians we know say that they have NEVER seen it like this. Here are a few pics compliments of others who live closer than we do. The first pic gives a cool perspective with the city below. Makes you realize how small you are when a gigantic mountain of hot lava is blowing up over such a large city (that is Catania in the foreground). The second pic shows some incredible detail.

tiramisu

our wonderful friend Mario stopped by the other night to bring us a present. freshly made tiramisu! wow it is delicious!!! we did NOT eat this all in one night....but now i'll have to go for another slice... good thing we are both working out these days.

fireworks

this is something interesting about living in the Aci's in Sicily (we live in Aci Catena, near Aci Trezza). last night we had actually gone to bed around 10:30 or 11pm. at 11:30 these loud 'booms' like bombs going off made me jump out of bed. and i stood there looking out from the balcony and watched the best fireworks display i've had the privilege to see all summer. (this is a regular occurence around here...!) i was oohing and aahing so much (they even had purple ones which i don't see very often) that Brad got up and watched too. Ringo was hiding under the bed by that time. Zelda barks a little to let us know she is ready to fight to defend us...

earlier in the day we had just gone down to walk around by the sea and try out the gelato (yum!) and actually ended up right in the middle of a festival but i am not 100% sure what it was all about. they - there were about 20 young men - were pulling the madonna and child from the sanctuary of the church through the streets on a very large cart. oh, and i think a priest and another man were also up there on the cart. there was a band playing and they took the cart down by the water and they were blessing something by the sprinkling of the holy water (i could not understand what they were saying). after that they were going to take the statue back to the church.

there are a lot of very steep hills in the area, so they had to get a running start to get the cart and its precious cargo up the hill but they made it on the first try much to the delight of the crowd. they were closely followed by the marching band, accompanied by loud ringing of the church bells in the main piazza (town square) where we were standing. it was so exciting to just be there by the water, watching all of this take place.

they have these really large fixtures that they put up all through the streets of the town and they are covered in colored lights. very festive. there were vendors selling all kinds of treats and toys and we ended up buying some pistachios and some peanuts in the shells. after that we went to one of the pizzerias right by the main piazza - so we sat outside by the sea and ate pizza in Sicily, Italy. i could cry right now just thinking about how incredible that is and how blessed we are to be here and experience this. it is not because of anything we did to deserve it and we are just so grateful and thankful to be here. it is very humbling.

the only bad part is that we did not bring our camera because we had no clue what was going to be going on down there. our deal to each other is this - if we go out the door, we're taking the camera!

we have not had an opportunity to see any of the recent meteor shower activity which is even MORE exciting. i have been awake every night for the past 5-6 nights until 2:30 or 3am - just wide awake--but i didn't think of going on the roof to look for the meteors. maybe that's not until next weekend, i'll have to check the news.

while i was awake last night i wrote down some ideas i was given for my first Sunday School class that starts in 2 weeks. i cannot wait!

okay, i need to go and practice the violin for a little while. i did not play yesterday and i have a lesson tomorrow and several rather complex pieces (for me). arrividerla...