Italy: Opera dei Pupi

On 17th March I got two postcards: one from Italy and one from Japan.

The card from Italy shows the Opera dei Pupi. The Opera dei Pupi is a traditional form of marionette theatre on Sicily. It mainly tells stories based on medieval chivalric literature and dates back to the early 19th century. Back then it was popular among Sicily's working classes, but since the 1950s the influence of the theatres decreased and only few troupes remain. However as similar types of marionette theatre disappeared in other parts of Italy, the Opera dei Pupi is the only example of an uninterrupted tradition of this kind of theatre, although it is nowadays mainly performed for tourists. Since 2008 is the Opera dei Pupi an Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO. 

Two interesting stamps were used on the card. The one on the left is from a set of two about Futurism (issued 26-11-2003), an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century which glorified modernity and emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city. Shown on the stamp is the painting Linee forza del pugno di Boccioni by Giacomo Balla. The other stamp celebrates Juventus as National Football Champion of 2015 (issued 11-06-2015). The QR Code leads to a now defunct website. 

Thank You very much Marco!