The and the History of puppets by Giuseppe Crimi (1854-1937)

Reconsidering the Opera dei pupi in Catania

Abstract

The puppet theater in Catania, in the 19th century, is the subject of numerous investigations which explored its complex cultural and social values. This article publishes together for the first time two significant texts of Giuseppe Crimi (1854-1937) who in them highlights the puppeteer activity in Catania, from 1835, of his father Gaetano (Licata 1808 - Catania 1873). The two texts, composed between 1923 and 1927, are animated by polemical intentions and claim the primacy of Gaetano and his family of puppeteers and actors compared to his rival Grassos. In particular, the <Memoirs> are built on a “dramatic” scheme which makes Gaetano the protagonist and his children Carmelo, Francesco and Giuseppe the deuteragonists.