Bolognese Puppet House

An engaging and interactive space waiting to be discovered, home to one of the city's oldest cultural treasures. The Casa dei Burattini Bolognesi (Bolognese Puppet House), created by the ‘Burattini a Bologna’ artists' collective, houses and promotes the traditional art of ‘wooden heads’ with the aim of passing it on to new generations. Between Portici, Commedia dell'Arte and Cinema, the rich exhibition includes historical puppets by the most renowned authors from the Bologna area and all the artistic materials from the Fondo Presini, used in the squares of Bologna until the early 2000s.

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To offer visitors a complete overview of the work and commitment behind each performance, the atmosphere of a puppet-making workshop has been recreated, with the tools and stages of construction of the heads and hands carved from Swiss pine and then painted. The tailoring, the painting of the backdrops and the section of handwritten scripts.

Among the valuable items waiting to be discovered, the historic workbench that belonged to Demetrio Presini and was later sold to Riccardo Pazzaglia stands out. Pazzaglia continues to create new puppets in these very rooms. The puppet backdrops on display are paper ones produced between the 19th and 20th centuries by the set designers of the Teatro Comunale.

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One area is dedicated to “cinema puppets” from Charlie Chaplin to Totò, from “Uccellacci Uccellini” to Gino Cervi and Fernandel, and even a Dr Balanzone who starred with the Bertolucci brothers in the short film “Bologna”, which can still be viewed on the Istituto Luce YouTube channel. Twenty-seven historical puppets on the “Colonna di San Simeone” alone, and much more.

Here, you can also "adopt" a puppet, following the custom of the Bolognese people, who, loving and feeling the legendary wooden heads as their own, never failed to collect them.

In addition to the exhibition, the theatre hall is open from November to April with an authentic theatre season.

“Burattini a Bologna Experience” is complemented by and interacts with some of the works in the museum, which can be appreciated during immersive guided tours.

The Puppet House hosts creative workshops and courses dedicated to the art of puppetry, courses for building and animating your own puppet, and a masterclass for adults led by master puppeteer Riccardo Pazzaglia

From June to September, the performances of classic Bolognese puppets move to Piazza Maggiore in the evocative location of the Cortile d'Onore of Palazzo d'Accursio with a packed program waiting to be discovered.

A special opportunity to enter the world of Bolognese puppet theater and experience it firsthand.