Comencini's Pinocchio Puppet on Display in Turin
From 17 to 21 September 2026 the Libreria San Paolo in Turin, at via della Consolata 1 bis, is displaying the original wooden puppet used in the television drama Le avventure di Pinocchio, directed by Luigi Comencini and produced in 1972 by Rai and SanPaoloFilm (today Multimedia San Paolo). The Turin exhibition marks the first stop of a tour that will take the artefact to several Italian cities, as part of the initiatives marking the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Carlo Collodi [1][2].
The Puppet and the TV Drama
The Pinocchio puppet on display in Turin is, according to Luca Poncina, head of the Libreria San Paolo in Turin, "the last surviving real puppet" used in the production: the other examples used during filming were lost due to the demands of the shoot [2]. The drama, made up of five episodes broadcast in April 1972 on Rai's Programma Nazionale, starred Nino Manfredi as Geppetto and Andrea Balestri, then a child, as Pinocchio; the cast also included Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia [1][2]. The puppet is now kept by the Fondazione San Paolo Film [1].
Events in Turin
Besides the exhibition, the Libreria San Paolo has organised activities for children and families. On Friday 18 September, actress Sara D'Amario read passages from Collodi's novel to the audience [1]. The Turin events were organised together with the bookshop and the Musli - Museo della scuola e del libro per l'infanzia, linked to the Fondazione Tancredi di Barolo [2].
Further Stops on the Tour
After Turin the puppet will travel to Alba, from 22 to 24 September, then to Genoa from 28 to 30 September, Milan on 7 and 8 October, Florence from 11 to 13 October and Modena from 15 to 17 October. The tour will then continue to Vicenza, Padua, Parma, Catania, Rome, Bari, Pescara and Bergamo, with a special day on 9 October in Cinisello Balsamo, at Villa Casati Stampa [1].
Statements from the Organisers
Don Roberto Ponti, sole director of Multimedia San Paolo, and don Antonio Rizzolo, sole director of Diffusione San Paolo, stated that "bringing Pinocchio to the Librerie San Paolo means rediscovering an important page of our history," stressing the aim of turning the preservation of memory into an occasion to meet today's public [1].
Related articles: Libreria San Paolo (Turin), The Pinocchio Puppet from Comencini's TV Series
Pages linking here
Sources
- Quotidiano Piemontese — 17 September 2026
- la Repubblica Torino — 18 September 2026