Sicily's most famous and artistic expressions!
The Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo invites you to discover, during your stay at our 3-star hotel in the centre of Catania, one of the oldest traditions of the city: the Opera of Pupi Siciliani.
The Opera dei Pupi, typical of the Sicilian storytelling tradition, is a puppet theatre that shows Charlemagne and his paladins actions inspired by the novels and poems of the Carolingian cycle.
The Old Customs buildings house the museum and puppet theater of the puppetry company of Fratelli Napoli (famous family of puppeteers Catania).
Puppets in Catania
"The Opira of Catania" is different for its size and its operating system: the puppets are animated from a bridge behind the bottom with the "pruituri" from the right and left to hold out the puppets to "manianti " to put them on stage, resting on a thick wooden board suspended about a meter from the ground, in the tradition of Catania is also a must to have a female voice.
La Old Custom overlooks the port of Catania, is easy to reach from Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo and is home of many musical, cultural and artistic events.
The Puppet Theatre of Fratelli Napoli: live the truly tradition!
If you decide to spend your holiday in Catania, taking advantage of the offers of Best Western Hotel Mediterraneo, you can’t miss a performance of Fratelli Napoli, now in its fourth generation of puppeteers, which is the oldest and most famous tradition of the Puppet Opera in Catania.
Founded in 1921, the company of family Napoli holding the only ancient job in Catania that remained as tradition and its collection includes puppets from the end of the last century or the early twentieth century, scenes, signs and theatrical equipment with which to cure the preparation exhibitions about puppet opera.
In addition to the show, Fratelli Napoli daily welcome in their home-workshop in Via Reitano schools, students and fans of the Opera, to reveal them rules and techniques of this ancient art.
Photo By Ji-Elle (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons