The original nucleus of the collections of the Museo Teatrale SIAE del Burcardo is the private collection of Luigi Rasi (1852-1918), actor, scholar of theatre history and for many years director of the School of Acting in Florence.
During his life, Rasi collected documents and memorabilia of all kinds connected with the history of theatre and show business, especially in Italy, but in some cases his collection was also enriched by the fruits of research and discoveries abroad. The Rasi collection, for example, includes a small collection of precious 18th century Chinese wand puppets, which he bought during a trip to China. The catalogue of the collection, published in 1912, constitutes a precious source of information on the origin of many documents and objects of the original nucleus, even if not all the materials described are currently present at Burcardo.
