Museo Internazionale delle Marionette

Palermo


This whimsical museum houses around 4000 marionettes, puppets, glove puppets and shadow figures from Sicily and Naples, as well as from further-flung places such as Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India and Africa. The museum's beautifully decorated traditional theatre – complete with hand-cranked music machine – stages puppet shows (adult/child €10/5) most afternoons in the summer and on Friday afternoons during the rest of the year.

Established by the Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions of Palermo, the museum takes puppeteering seriously, researching the art form, providing informative labelling alongside museum exhibits and hosting the annual Festa di Morgana (www.festivaldimorgana.it), when puppeteers from all over the world converge on the museum for lectures and performances.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Palermo attractions

1. Museo dell'Inquisizione

0.07 MILES

Housed in the lower floors and basements of 14th-century Palazzo Chiaromonte Steri, this fascinating museum explores the legacy of the Inquisition in…

2. Falcone & Borsellino Mural

0.08 MILES

Sicilian street artists Rosk e Loste (Maurizio Giulio ‘Rosk’ Gebbia and Mirko ‘Loste’ Cavalletto) executed this striking mural of Sicilian anti-mafia…

3. Giardino Garibaldi

0.11 MILES

Surrounded on all sides by elegant palazzi, gentrified Piazza Marina is Palermo's quietest piazza, and its small Giardino Garibaldi encloses Palermo's…

4. Galleria Regionale della Sicilia

0.13 MILES

Housed in the stately 15th-century Palazzo Abatellis, this art museum – widely regarded as Palermo's best – showcases works by Sicilian artists dating…

5. Palazzo Mirto

0.18 MILES

Just off Piazza Marina, this palazzo is one of the few in Palermo open to the public. Dating back to the 17th century, the building served as the Palermo…

6. Oratorio dei Bianchi

0.21 MILES

The 16th-century 'Oratory of the Whites' obtained its nickname from the white ceremonial gowns worn by its religious guild, whose members comforted…

7. Pangrel Murals

0.25 MILES

What was once a row of dull apartment blocks is now a veritable open-air gallery, its trio of outstanding murals part of the Pangrel urban-renewal…

8. Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi

0.26 MILES

On a picture-perfect piazza, the much-amended Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi dates back to the 13th century. Remnants from its early history include the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "italy/sicily/palermo/attractions/museo-internazionale-delle-marionette/a/poi-sig/458799/360009",
      "destination": "Palermo",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Italy",
      "region": "Sicily",
      "city": "Palermo",
      "position": "superzone"
    }