On this Photo Friday (and the feast of Santo Stefano — a holiday in Rome), photographer Susan Sanders brings us a wonderful photo from Naples.
Shot on San Gregorio Armeno, the Neapolitan street lined with stores and stalls selling Christmas creche figures, the photo depicts a Pulcinella figurine sitting amongst boxes and boxes of Christmas ornaments.
Who is Pulcinella? Called Punch in English, he’s a character in the Renaissance Commedia dell’Arte, a form of improvisational theater in which performances were unscripted, held outside, used few props, and were given by a troupe of ten people: eight men and two women.
Still performed today, conventional plot lines are written on themes of adultery, jealousy, old age, and love. Many of the basic plot elements can be traced back to the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence, though they can be easily adapted to satirize local scandals, current events, or regional tastes, while still using old jokes and punch lines.
In the Commedia, Pulcinella is portrayed as pitiable, helpless, and often physically disfigured. He usually has a hump, a distinct limp, or some other obvious physical deformity and wears a mask. In some portrayals he cannot speak, and expresses himself in squeaks or other strange sounds. His personality can be foolish or sly and shrewd.
For more photos by Susan, visit her photo blog: Rome With A View. And check out the 2009 Rome With A View calendars she’s created if you want to enjoy the Eterna every single day in 2009.
