Burattinarte Summertime in Guarene

Puppet theatre arrives in Guarene

Every summer, the Burattinarte Summertime festival transforms the courtyards, squares, libraries, and villages of the Langhe and Roero into open-air stages for puppet theatre. Among the towns hosting the festival is Guarene, an elegant village in the Roero area of the Cuneo province (Piedmont), dominated by its famous 18th-century castle and overlooking the UNESCO-listed hills.

In Guarene, performances take place in the Town Hall Courtyard (Cortile del Municipio) in Piazza Roma, an intimate and evocative space that serves as the perfect venue for the festival's evenings. Like all events in the Burattinarte Summertime programme, admission is free and designed for an intergenerational audience: children, teenagers, families, and fans of popular theatre.

An international festival, spread across the territory

Organised by the Burattinarte Cultural Association of Alba and directed by Claudio Giri and Consuelo Conterno, the festival brings together Italian and international companies—in recent years from Argentina, Cuba, Chile, and Switzerland—for a programme that alternates between puppets, marionettes, live theatre, parades, and interactive game installations.

The Guarene stop is part of a widespread programme that, from late June to early September, visits various towns in the area: Alba, Bra, La Morra, Cherasco, Grinzane Cavour, Castagnito, Novello, Murazzano, Piobesi d'Alba, Lequio Berria, and Guarene itself. It is a wonderful way to discover the Roero and Langhe landscape by combining culture, tradition, and scenery.

Why it's worth visiting

Puppet theatre is one of the oldest and most popular forms of live performance: it returns to Guarene every summer with its unique ability to enchant both young and old. In case of bad weather, performances will be moved to indoor venues. Booking via WhatsApp at the festival's numbers is recommended.