A character or “mask” (maschera) from commedia dell’arte taken up by puppet theatre since the 17th century. Pulcinella’s origins are disputed. Because the character appeared at the end of the 16th century and his costume is associated with the peasants of Acerra, near Naples, his ancestor is usually considered to be the character of Macchus, a buffoon from Atellan farce (a form of Latin comedy so called because it originated in Atella – today Aversa – and located near Acerra). A statuette dating from the first century BCE (Louvre Museum), generally recognized as Macchus, presents some physical traits similar to Pulcinella’s: a hunched/hump back, doubled by a prominent belly and a large hooked nose.
Pulcinella’s gait and swagger, as well as his characteristic squeaking, reedy voice – rendered in the puppet theatre by a swazzle (pivetta) – evoke the chicken that is the source of his name (pullicinello or pulcino), and it is said that he was hatched from a turkey egg. His rural origin is well established, but Pulcinella quickly grew accustomed to the popular neighbourhoods of Naples to draw from them his gesturality and become the city’s emblematic figure. If his origin is double, at once rural and urban, his character is also fundamentally ambivalent. He is represented in several 18th-century paintings that inspired more pulcinellini; he also has a feminine double, Pulcinellessa. This hermaphroditism immediately accentuates his profound otherness.
The transgressive character par excellence, associated with the figure of the Devil, Pulcinella obeys his master but can also defy him. Usually penniless, this sly rascal develops myriad stratagems for achieving his aims and gorging himself, but under Colombina’s tender gaze he is also a pitiable and sympathetic fool, the innocent victim of his powerful enemies. He frequently transforms himself, taking on a variety of roles but without ever renouncing the essentially populist identity that he expresses in multiple dialects. Pulcinella’s insolence and devilry are also balanced by the qualities of a generous saviour in the service of the greater good. This character trait, in addition to the role of the deceived lover, was accentuated in the pulcinellate of puppet theatre beginning in the 18th century.
