Burrattino, also Burattino or Burratino, is a minor character from the Commedia dell'arte, of the stupid zanni (or second zanni) class.[1] He is a variant on the character Pedrolino. Burattino means wooden puppet or doll in Italian.[2]
Though only mildly popular on the stage, he found his real fame in the marionette theater. According to Pierre Louis Ducharte, his puppet's influence in Italy was so great that "by the end of the sixteenth century, all marionettes operated by strings and a wire were called burattini, instead of bagatelli or fantoccini, as they had been known up to that time."
Like Pedrolino, Burrattino is extremely good natured. He is so trustworthy that, in one of Flaminio Scala's scenari, the lone innamorata Isabella takes him along as her sole accompaniment on a journey across the country. When he later in the story believes (mistakenly) that Isabella has been kidnapped and raped, he weeps and laments at length.
In the Russian version, Pinocchio was renamed Buratino and joined by a supporting cast of other commedia dell'arte characters like Pierrot and Harlequin. In the TV adaption they were played by children to emphasize their innocent or naive nature.