In a wing of the Castle on the ground floor and first floor with entrance from the latter, it is possible to visit the Museum of Pulcinella, Folklore, and Peasant Culture. The Museum was founded and set up by the Cultural Center “Acerra Nostra” in 1992. It is a unique Museum, different from many scattered throughout Italy. In this Museum, among worn plows and old utensils, there has been an effort to reconstruct not only the materials but above all the soul of the peasant culture of Terra di Lavoro, the ancient Liburia, from which the very mask of Pulcinella originated. In the rooms, alongside agricultural work tools, there is also a reconstruction of domestic environments where much of life unfolded. In this cultural context and agrarian dimension, Pulcinella was born: the non-urban mask, the mask of the funny and foolish countryman. Since the 1500s, in fact, Pulcinella and Acerra had become an inseparable pair. For some, Puccio D’Aniello, Paolo Cinella, Paoluccio della Cerra were those characters who gave body and soul to the first Pulcinella. For others, it was a Zanni Policiniello, little chick, with a voice rendered hoarse by the whistle or the use of the mask, the great and first Pulcinella. For others still, the Acerra mask represents the last heir of Maccus, the funniest and silliest character of the Atellan farces, performed in Campania during Roman times. The Museum is organized in the ancient kitchen rooms and on two entire floors of the Castle that belonged to the city’s feudal lords. It includes an Archive, a Library, and a Video Library with a research section dedicated to Alfonso Maria di Nola, twelve exhibition rooms, the kitchens, the monument to Pulcinella by Gennaro d’Angelo. The Museum comprises a section dedicated to Pulcinella and one to the Folklore of Terra di Lavoro ancient Liburia. The Pulcinella section unfolds along a path illustrating the multiple origins of the mask: The journey of Pulcinella and the commedia dell’arte; The origins of Pulcinella; Acerra and Pulcinella; The costume, the mask, and the horn; Pulcinella and the moon; Pulcinella hunger and macaroni; Pulcinella and the masters; The saints, the toys, the nativity scene, and Pulcinella; The square and the theater; The glove puppets; Pulcinella in the world; The monument to Pulcinella. In this section are collected and exhibited: original documents related to popular, literary, and theatrical traditions about Pulcinella; ancient and modern works of art; costumes, masks, and photos of actors who have portrayed Pulcinella, from Antonio Petito to Massimo Troisi; rare objects and works of Campanian craftsmanship, ancient and modern. Also reconstructed are a 17th-century piazza theatrical booth, a Pulcinella nativity scene, and a glove puppet theater.
Information about the Museum of Pulcinella, Folklore and Peasant Culture
Baronial Castle of Acerra – Piazza Castello, 1
80011 Acerra (Naples)
0818857249
infomuseo@pulcinellamuseo.it
https://www.pulcinellamuseo.it
Source: MIBACT
