Museo delle marionette Angelo Cenderelli

About the museum

The museum preserves the puppet theatre built at home by Angelo Cenderelli (1892–1959), a head of the public works department of the Comune di Genova, who from 1937 until his death designed, made and staged his own performances. The collection was opened to the public in February 1996 in Campomorone, and the route was renewed in May 2013.

The collection documents a very lively tradition in 19th-century Genoa, when the city had numerous permanent puppet theatres. From the second half of the century this popular entertainment spread to smaller towns and villages, before declining from the 1950s onwards, as in other parts of Italy.

The collection includes about fifty wooden puppets built according to the system known as Holden, twenty-three animals, about two hundred props, dozens of stage sets, largely painted by Egidio Oliveri, theatre costumes and about fifty scripts. The museum is housed in Palazzo Balbi, the seat of the Campomorone town hall, and is also dedicated to Cenderelli through the Premio Cenderelli, created in 2013 as part of the “Burattinando Villa Serra” festival.

Highlights

• About 50 wooden puppets built to the Holden system
• Family puppet theatre of Angelo Cenderelli
• Stage sets painted by Egidio Oliveri
• Stage costumes, animals and original scripts

Founded

1996

Operated by

Comune di Campomorone

Visitors per year

approx. 500 (2022)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is in Palazzo Balbi, the town hall, at Via Antonio Gavino 144 in Campomorone.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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