The Castello dei Burattini (Castle of Puppets), or rather, the Giordano Ferrari Museum, was officially established in 2002, in the rooms of the ex-convent of San Paolo, and its opening certainly marked an important moment for the Italian and international puppet theatre scene.

It has taken shape in a city rich in refined atmospheres and in a space of noble connotations, fraught with antique charm.

It is the result of a dream that Giordano Ferrari cherished for a considerable part of his life, but which, unfortunately, he did not live long enough to see fulfilled.
During his lifetime, Giordano collected testimonies of the lives and work of generations of puppeteers, doing so with patient tenacity and genuine passion.
It was then a case of finding a place where the collection could be preserved and put to good use.
In the 1980s, the mutual desire of the Bank of Sardinia and the Municipality of Parma led to the acquisition of Giordano Ferrari’s material, with the promise of setting up a museum where it could be enjoyed by the public.
Since then, the commitment of the Municipality and the Institute of Cultural Assets for the Emilia Romagna Region has enabled a wing of the San Paolo convent to be salvaged in order to house the extraordinary collection of marionettes and puppets.