Libreria San Paolo (Torino)

Interior of the Libreria San Paolo in Turin, with the wooden statue on display — from the publication by la Repubblica Torino, 2026-09-18

Libreria San Paolo is a bookshop at via della Consolata 1 bis, in Turin, part of the nationwide network of Librerie San Paolo. In September 2026 it was the first stop on an Italian tour devoted to exhibiting the original Pinocchio puppet, linked to the Rai and SanPaoloFilm (today Multimedia San Paolo) production of the television drama 'Le avventure di Pinocchio' ('The Adventures of Pinocchio'), directed by Luigi Comencini in 1972.^{^[1]}^{^[2]}

The exhibition of the original Pinocchio

From Thursday 17 September 2026 the bookshop hosted, until 21 September, the wooden puppet used in the 1972 television drama, kept by the Fondazione San Paolo Film. According to Luca Poncina, the manager of the Libreria San Paolo in Turin, it is the last surviving puppet actually used in the production, since the other examples used during filming were lost owing to the demands of the shoot.^{^[1]}^{^[2]}

The initiative was organized to coincide with the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Carlo Collodi, author of the novel 'Le avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino' ('The Adventures of Pinocchio. The Story of a Puppet'), and with the 55th anniversary of the television drama, broadcast in April 1972 on Rai's Programma Nazionale in five episodes, with Nino Manfredi as Geppetto and Andrea Balestri as Pinocchio, alongside Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia.^{^[2]}

Activities for children and families

During the days of the Turin exhibition the bookshop organized initiatives and activities devoted to Pinocchio, aimed above all at children and families. Among the events was a public reading of Pinocchio by actress Sara D'Amario, held on Friday 18 September 2026. The events were organized, besides by the Libreria San Paolo, by the Musli — the Museum of the School and of the Children's Book of the Fondazione Tancredi di Barolo.^{^[1]}^{^[2]}

The national tour

After its stop in Turin, the puppet continued its tour to other Italian cities, with stops in Alba from 22 to 24 September, 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, before reaching Vicenza, Padua, Parma, Catania, Rome, Bari, Pescara and Bergamo. On 9 October a day devoted to Collodi's fairy tale is also planned in Cinisello Balsamo, at Villa Casati Stampa.^{^[1]}

Don Roberto Ponti, sole director of Multimedia San Paolo, and don Antonio Rizzolo, sole director of Diffusione San Paolo, said that bringing Pinocchio to the Librerie San Paolo means rediscovering an important page in the publishing house's history, turning the preservation of memory into an occasion to meet today's public.^{^[1]}

Timeline

18 September 2026 — The Libreria San Paolo in Turin exhibits the original Pinocchio puppet used in Comencini's television drama. → Quotidiano Piemontese la Repubblica Torino

Sources

Pinocchio in visita a Torino, il burattino originale dello sceneggiato di Comencini è alla libreria San Paolo — Quotidiano Piemontese, 17 September 2026
A Torino il Pinocchio dello sceneggiato tv di Comencini — la Repubblica Torino, 18 September 2026