EuroPuppet — International Puppet Theatre Festival
Puppets, marionettes, and shadows between Valsesia and the lower Vercelli area
About EuroPuppet
A puppet festival touring the villages
EuroPuppet is the International Puppet Theatre Festival that transforms the squares and historic palaces of Piedmont into open-air stages for puppets, marionettes, shadow plays, and object theatre every summer. As a traveling event, it crosses the villages of the Upper Valsesia and the lower Vercelli area, with its nerve center in Fontanetto Po, in the Province of Vercelli, home to the organizing company.
The team behind it: La Bottega Teatrale
The festival is a project by Kirby Teatro – La Bottega Teatrale APS, a company from Fontanetto Po active since 1995 with extensive experience dedicated to children, families, and schools. The artistic direction is led by Giuseppe Cardascio and Salvatore Varvaro, the historic souls of the company. Over the years, EuroPuppet has built a network of exchanges with Italian and international artists, bringing companies from various European countries and beyond to this small Piedmontese town.
What to see in Fontanetto Po
The village in the Vercelli Monferrato area hosts the festival in the spaces of Palazzo Ovis, which serves as the home for the event's exhibitions and displays. Alongside live performances, EuroPuppet offers creative workshops for children and moments dedicated to more vulnerable audiences, such as shows designed for residents of the local nursing home, reflecting a theatre that also serves as a community occasion.
A festival that rewards the audience
EuroPuppet is not a competitive festival between companies: it is the spectators who vote. After each performance, they express their preferences for the best staging, the best actor and actress, the set design, and the puppet manipulation. There is also a loyalty award for those who attend the most events. This formula makes the festival highly participatory and family-friendly.
Traveling throughout Piedmont
In addition to Fontanetto Po, EuroPuppet reaches Varallo, Civiasco, Balmuccia, and Scopello in the Upper Valsesia, as well as Crescentino and Lamporo in the lower Vercelli area, having expanded over the years toward the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is one of the longest-running puppet theatre events in Piedmont, capable of bringing the art of puppetry even to the smallest towns outside the major cultural circuits.
EuroPuppet — edition 2026
The 2026 edition of EuroPuppet, the 19th in its history, takes place from June 26 to July 12 with stops in the Upper Valsesia (Varallo, Civiasco, Balmuccia, Scopello), the lower Vercelli area (Crescentino, Fontanetto Po, Lamporo) and, for the first time, in Grugliasco in the Province of Turin. In Fontanetto Po, the festival focuses on the weekend of July 10-12, in the spaces of Palazzo Ovis. Under the artistic direction of Giuseppe Cardascio and Salvatore Varvaro, the event features a total of 21 puppet theatre performances by Italian and foreign companies.
Admission is free with voluntary donations, and spectators vote after each performance: the festival is not competitive between companies but rewards the moments most loved by the audience.
Programme EuroPuppet 2026
In Fontanetto Po — July 10-12, 2026
The village events take place in the spaces of Palazzo Ovis.
- Exhibition «Pinocchio in Mangiafuoco's Puppet Theatre» — watercolors by Giuseppe Attini (Yaroslav Svabodni), dedicated to Pinocchio's disguises reinterpreted as traditional theatrical masks.
- «Lanterns of Wishes» Workshops — creative workshops for children and families, where they build their own lantern before participating in the launch on the water, a small collective ritual of wishes. By reservation via WhatsApp/SMS (Giuseppe 347 7627706, Salvo 346 3524547).
- Performance «Figure in Variety» by the company Kirby Teatro – La Bottega Teatrale, also in a version designed for the residents of the local nursing home, in the courtyard of Palazzo Caligaris.
In the rest of the festival
- Sunday, June 28: «El burrito que queria cantar» by the Colombian company Teatrino Don Eloy.
- Sunday, July 5: «Small Stories in TekniColor» by the Teatro dei Colori company from Avezzano.
«Lanterns of Wishes» workshops also in Varallo and Crescentino.
Highlights EuroPuppet 2026
Prices EuroPuppet 2026
Practical information — EuroPuppet
How to get there
Fontanetto Po is located in the lower Vercelli area, in the Province of Vercelli. By car, it can be reached from the A4 Turin-Milan motorway (Greggio or Balocco exits) or the A26; by train, the reference stations are Livorno Ferraris or Crescentino, on the Chivasso-Casale Monferrato line.
Tickets
Admission to the shows is free, with voluntary donations to support the festival. Children's workshops require reservations.
Reservations and contacts
Workshop reservations via WhatsApp/SMS: Giuseppe 347 7627706, Salvo 346 3524547. Information: [email protected].
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Where does it take place — EuroPuppet
Palazzo Ovis