Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa
( 091 652 49 42; Via Paolo Gili 4)
West of the centre, this newly renovated industrial space has
recently emerged as Palermo's trendiest contemporary and experimental arts venue, with
frequent live performances and a brand new modern art gallery, ZAC (Zona Arti Contem-
poranee).
PERFORMING ARTS
PERFORMING ARTS
Teatro di Verdura
( 091 765 19 63; Viale del Fante 70; mid-Jun-Sep)
A summer-only program of ballet and music
in the lovely gardens of the Villa Castelnuovo, about 6km north of the city centre. There's
a delightful open-air bar that opens during shows.
Teatro Politeama Garibaldi
(Piazza Ruggero Settimo)
This grandiose theatre is a popular venue for opera, ballet and classic-
al music, staging afternoon and evening concerts from October through to June. Designed
by architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda between 1867 and 1874, it features a striking
facade resembling a triumphal arch topped by a huge bronze chariot. It's home to
Palermo's symphony orchestra, the
Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana
(
PERFORMING ARTS
091 607 25 32;
SICILIAN PUPPET THEATRE
Since the 18th century, the Opera dei Pupi (traditional Sicilian puppet theatre) has been enthralling adults and
children alike. The shows are a mini theatrical performance with some puppets standing 1.5m high - a completely
different breed from the glove puppet popular in the West. These characters are intricately carved from beech,
olive or lemon wood with realistic-looking features; flexible joints ensure they have no problem swinging their
swords or beheading dragons.
Effectively the soap operas of their day, Sicilian puppet shows expounded the deepest sentiments of life - unre-
quited love, treachery, thirst for justice and the anger and frustration of the oppressed. The swashbuckling tales
centre on the legends of Charlemagne's heroic knights, Orlando and Rinaldo, with an extended cast including the
fair Angelica, the treacherous Gano di Magonza and forbidding Saracen warriors. Good puppeteers are judged on
the dramatic effect they can create - lots of stamping feet and a gripping running commentary - and on their
speed and skill in directing the battle scenes.
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