Una nave per tornare

The puppet show in Sicily has a long tradition of storytellers, who use Homeric and Carolingian stories to make their audience reflect on their lives. Nowadays, this art form is only practised by a handful of puppeteers. In Palermo, Vincente Argento has revived his father‘s theatre, hoping to introduce youngsters to the richness of the stories. ‘Without open eyes, an attentive ear and a pounding heart, your activities have no future,‘ he elucidates his passion. He strongly hopes that the oral tradition will be carried on again. Still, in a general sense, he advocates change: ‘The monster is he who wants to keep everything the same, that the rich remain rich and that the poor remain slaves.‘ Travelling makes people wise, to remote places or close by, in your fantasy. It is no coincidence that Argentos‘s face can be recognised in his wooden doll Odysseus.