Pinocchio celebrations launch with puppet tour and museum exhibition in Italy

The original puppet from the 1972 Rai and SanPaoloFilm television production of ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ is embarking on a national tour across Italy. Produced by Multimedia San Paolo, the classic series featured Nino Manfredi as Geppetto and Andrea Balestri as Pinocchio. The tour, which begins on September 17, will visit various San Paolo bookstores in cities including Turin, Alba, Genoa, Milan, Florence, and Modena, among others, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Carlo Collodi’s birth.

In a separate cultural initiative, the Museo della Figurina has launched a new exhibition titled ‘Pinocchio a rotta di collo. Metamorfosi di un burattino’ at Palazzo Santa Margherita. Held in conjunction with the Festivalfilosofia, the exhibition explores the character's evolution through over a century of visual media, including illustrations, comics, toys, and cartoons. The display features works ranging from the novel's first illustrator, Enrico Mazzanti, to modern interpretations by artists such as Gianluigi Toccafondo and Roberto Catani. The exhibition is scheduled to run until February 7, 2027.