In early May, a special guest came to our Salon. She was Cosetta Colla, the current heir of the “Compagnia marionettistica Carlo Colla e Figli”, a two-century old Milanese company of puppeteer. Surrounded by her wonderful wood creatures, she told us the artistic history of her family, as well as hers.

The meeting then became a show, when the marionettes magically began to move, shaking hands cheerfully, and when Luigi Veronesi’s flying fairies suddenly came to life. Grown-up members of the audience were asking technical queries: “How long are the puppeteer’s ten strings?” “What hand do you use to move them?”. The children, meanwhile, displayed new callings: “When I’m older, I will be a marionettaia”, said Chiara, a 7 year-old girl.

www.teatrocolla.org

Pictures © Gerry Pizzocari (1, 2), Matilde Garelli (3, 4, 5)