One of my favorite things to do when I lived in Italy was to go to festivals with mamma and watch the spettacoli di marionette (marionette shows). One of the most famous marionettes (or pupo in Sicilian) is Pinocchio but there is another character born in 1958 who is just as famous today. Chi è? Who is it? His name is Topo Gigio!

Topo Gigio was the lead character for a children’s puppet show in Italy in the early 1960s. His creators, artist Maria Perego, her husband Federico Caldura, and another artist Guido Stagnaro, brought him to life in their disegni (drawings) and sogni (dreams). He had his first appearance on T.V. in 1959. This cute mouse’s name translates to Louie Mouse in English but everyone lo conoscono (knows him) as Topo Gigio!