Battaglia tra Bradamante e Marfisa (Battle between Bradamante and Marfisa) is inspired by a long series of plays about the adventures of Charlemagne’s paladins, which used to be played by the opera dei pupi. In the 1970s, as their traditional audience was disappearing, puppeteers from Palermo begin putting on shows inspired by a single episode of this cycle. At the time, Anna Cuticchio wrote several shows about the female paladin Bradamante, to which her theatre was dedicated. In her shows, Bradamante accomplishes feats usually attributed to male paladins – she fights against animals, saves a princess’ or a soldier’s life and duels for love. This version (whose date of writing is unknown) is shorter than the 1985 Battaglia tra Bradamante e Ruggero e Marfisa.

In Carlo Magno’s (Charlemagne) royal palace, paladins are getting ready to fight Agramante, who has besieged Paris, and his army. In a wood, while she is waiting for her lover Ruggero, Bradamante kills a snake; then she saves a soldier who was in danger because of another snake. The solider tells him that Ruggero is going to marry Marfisa and he promises Bradamante that he will lead her to Agramante’s camp, so she can challenge Ruggero in a duel. In the enemy camp, the knights are preparing to fight Carlo Magno’s army. Marfisa tends to Ruggero, who was wounded by Mandricardo. When Bradamante arrives, Marfisa goes to fight her in Ruggero’s stead. The two warriors fight in a duel. Ruggero arrives to split them up. When he learns that the knight fighting Marfisa is his beloved Bradamante, he explains that he could not meet with her at the appointed time because he was wounded. Marfisa eavesdrops on the conversation, without being seen, and discovers that Ruggero is in love with Bradamante. Ruggero and Marfisa are about to fight when the ghost of the magician Atlante appears and reveals that they are the twin children of the Chrisitan king Ruggero di Risa. Ruggero and Marfisa reconcile, decide to be christened and to go with Bradamante to Carlo Magno’s court.