In a dark forest, Pulcinella encounters Dante. To get out of the forest, he will have to cross Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Dante accompanies him in Hell, where Pulcinella meets Caronte (Charon) and fights Cerbero (Cerberus) and several devils. Lucifero (Lucifer) himself comes to drive Pulcinella out of Hell. He can now access Purgatory, where he is accompanied by Diego Maradona. There, he meets several souls that ask him to pray for them: the souls of a soldier, a priest, a prostitute and a guappo (local thug) killed by Pulcinella. He finally meets Death who plays tricks on him using skulls. After defeating Death, Pulcinella can access Paradise, where he is accompanied by Beatrice. In Paradise, Pulcinella wants to eat but San Gennaro explains that holy souls do not eat. As an exception, San Vincenzo Ferrer gives him a meal and Sant’Antonio Abate brings him a cup of coffee. At the end of the play, Pulcinella dances with Beatrice. With the journey over, Pulcinella now looks for his true Paradise: his lover Teresina.

Glove-puppet

Marotte

All audiences

Leone Bruno

Italy

Naples

Palermo

Electronic text

Hell

Purgatory

Heaven

Hunger

Original sin

Love

Comical

Pulcinella and Dante in the dark forest

Italian

Pulcinella nell'Inferno, Purgatorio e Paradiso delle guarattelle

Pulcinella

Dante Alighieri

Charon

Cerberus

Devil

Lucifer

Diego Armando Maradona

Soldier

Priest

Prostitute

Thug

Soul in Purgatory

Death

Beatrice

Saint Januarius

God (monotheism)

Saint Vincent Ferrer

Saint Anthony the Great

Teresina

Pulcinellino

Baby

Fighting a monster

Inserting poetry

Versified passages

Apparition of the Devil

Blow-with-a-stick

Dead talking character

Dance

Childbirth on stage

Nel mezzo del teatrin di nostra vita

In the middle of the puppet booth of our life