In a wing of the Castle on the ground floor and the first floor with entrance from the latter it is possible to visit the Museum of Pulcinella, folklore and peasant civilization. The Museum was founded and set up by the Cultural Center “Acerra Nostra” in 1992. It is a particular Museum, different from the many scattered around Italy. In this Museum, among worn plows and old utensils, an attempt has been made to reconstruct not only the materials but above all the soul of the peasant culture of Terra di Lavoro, ancient Liburia, from which the very mask of Pulcinella originated. In the rooms, alongside the tools of agricultural work, there is also the reconstruction of the domestic environments in which much of life took place. In this cultural context and in this agrarian dimension, Pulcinella was born: the non-urban mask, the mask of the funny and foolish peasant. 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 made hoarse by the whistle or by 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 most foolish character of the Atellan comedies, performed in Campania in Roman times. The Museum is articulated in the ancient halls of the kitchen and on two entire floors of the Castle belonging to the lords of the city. It includes an Archive, a Library, and a Videotheque with a research section dedicated to Alfonso Maria di Nola, twelve exhibition halls, the kitchens, the monument to Pulcinella by Gennaro d’Angelo. The Museum includes 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 outfit, 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 marionettes;
Pulcinella in the world;
The monument to Pulcinella.
In this section, original documents related to popular, literary, and theatrical traditions about Pulcinella are collected and displayed; ancient and modern works of art; costumes, masks, and photos of actors who played Pulcinella, from Antonio Petito to Massimo Troisi, rare objects, and works of Campanian craftsmanship, ancient and modern.
A 17th-century open-air theater booth from the piazza, a Pulcinella nativity scene, and a marionette theater are also reconstructed.
Information about the Museum of Pulcinella, Folklore and Peasant Civilization
Baronial Castle of Acerra – Piazza Castello, 1
80011 Acerra (Naples)
0818857249
infomuseo@pulcinellamuseo.it
https://www.pulcinellamuseo.it
Source: MIBACT
