Otello Sarzi’s Puppet House

Stepping into Casa dei Burattini di Otello Sarzi means immersing yourself in a world where imagination, theatre and art come to life. A remarkable place, created to preserve and celebrate the legacy of the great puppeteer Otello Sarzi, the undisputed master of puppetry and a tireless innovator, capable of transforming any material into pure theatrical magic.
The permanent exhibition, hosted by the Fondazione Famiglia Sarzi, features hundreds of works created between the 1960s and the 2000s: puppets, marionettes, stage sets, art objects and inventions that bear witness to Otello’s boundless creativity.
Alongside the great classics of traditional and experimental theatre, the exhibition features evocative scenes from the fairy tales that have shaped the artistic history of the Sarzi family.
The museum is designed as a dynamic and ever-changing experience, capable of reinventing itself for special events and constantly offering the public fresh perspectives.
Spanning two floors, visitors are guided through stage props, puppets with a thousand faces and fascinating displays, until they reach the upper floor, where the beating heart of Otello’s work takes shape – a body of work always focused on research and experimentation.
The visit concludes with a multimedia and workshop space that invites young and old alike to get involved: here, visitors can improvise short puppet theatre performances, explore sounds and lights, handle the animated objects and even try their hand at making a puppet.

Un’esperienza immersiva pensata per avvicinare tutti - bambini, famiglie, appassionati e curiosi - al meraviglioso mondo del teatro animato.
Il museo custodisce una straordinaria collezione di oltre 3.500 oggetti: burattini tradizionali e contemporanei, marionette, maschere emiliane come Sandrone e Fagiolino, baracche teatrali, scenografie, costumi e un ricchissimo archivio storico con locandine, fotografie, documenti e migliaia di articoli dedicati al teatro di animazione.
Completano il patrimonio una biblioteca specializzata e i copioni utilizzati dalla famiglia Sarzi fin dalle origini.
La Casa dei Burattini di Otello Sarzi è molto più di un museo: è un luogo vivo, pensato per raccontare il passato, valorizzare il presente e ispirare il futuro del teatro di figura. Uno spazio accogliente, con un piccolo teatro, una biblioteca e un laboratorio creativo, dove ogni visita si trasforma in un viaggio tra immaginazione, memoria ed emozione.
An immersive experience designed to introduce everyone – children, families, enthusiasts and the simply curious – to the wonderful world of puppetry.
The museum houses an extraordinary collection of over 3,500 items: traditional and contemporary puppets, marionettes, Emilian masks such as Sandrone and Fagiolino, theatre booths, sets, costumes and a rich historical archive containing posters, photographs, documents and thousands of articles dedicated to the theatre of animation.
The collection is complemented by a specialist library and the scripts used by the Sarzi family since the very beginning.
Casa dei Burattini di Otello Sarzi is much more than a museum: it is a living space, designed to recount the past, celebrate the present and inspire the future of puppetry. A welcoming space, with a small theatre, a library and a creative workshop, where every visit becomes a journey through imagination, memory and emotion.