Research Question

Where does the Cunto originate? Is it merely a form of popular storytelling, or does it preserve traces of a more ancient poetic tradition?

This research aims to genealogically reconstruct the Sicilian Cunto as a form of performative orality, by analyzing its transformations between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, and by investigating its connections with Sicilian poetry, Islamic Sicily, and Arabo-Andalusian and Mediterranean traditions. The hypothesis is that the Cunto represents a form of “rhythmic prose”, born from the oral transposition of lyrical models into oral storytelling, in which rhythm functions as a mnemonic, performative, and communal device.

Methodology for Achieving the Objectives

• Analysis of historical sources from the eighteenth to the twentieth century • Comparative study of Sicilian poetry and Arabo-Andalusian traditions • Participant observation and fieldwork • Semi-structured audiovisual interviews with contemporary cuntisti and Mediterranean performers • Comparison of rhythmic, narrative, thematic, and performative elements • Collection, cataloguing, and digitization of materials

The research also develops through an emic perspective made possible by my artistic practice as a contemporary cuntista; this considers performance as a tool of cultural observation.

Case Studies

• Sicilian Cunto (tradition and contemporaneity) • Sicilian poetry as a possible rhythmic matrix • Maghrebi Halqa • Tunisian storytellers • Ottoman meddah • Iranian naqqāl • Iberian epic-narrative traditions, particularly the Cantar de mio Cid

→ A unified system: oral storytelling, rhythm, frontier, and memory.

Data Analysis and Interpretation of Results

The Cunto emerges as a practice in which structure and improvisation coexist. The analysis aims to demonstrate how the prose of the Cunto preserves deep traces of oral poetry and lyrical meter.

The research further explores the hypothesis of a possible Mediterranean convergence between the Sicilian Cunto and Iberian epic-narrative traditions, particularly the Cantar de mio Cid. Although it was derived from the Carolingian tradition, the Cunto may preserve traces of a shared imaginary shaped within frontier territories between Islam and Christianity.

The comparative analysis focuses on Saracen and Christian figures, on the dynamics of the Mediterranean frontier, and on the transformation of epic into oral storytelling.

The research seeks to redefine the Cunto as a hybrid form: between poetry and storytelling, orality and theatre, Sicily and the Mediterranean. Research Outputs Main output: • PhD dissertation on the origins, historical transformations, and Mediterranean dimension of the Cunto

Secondary outputs: • Digital audiovisual archive of the contemporary Cunto • Episodic audiovisual documentary series inspired by the ancient daily sessions of the Cunto

Through my experience as a contemporary cuntista, I travel across the territory. meeting the protagonists of the Sicilian Cunto and collecting historical, performative, and contemporary testimonies.

→ An archive that becomes experience: accessible, divulgative, and capable of addressing not only specialists but also a wider audience. Essential Bibliography (APA) Balsamo, G. (2026). Cunto saraceno. Cue Press.

Balsamo, G. (2021). Sotto il segno del cunto. Editoria & Spettacolo.

Chierchia, M. R. (2024). La memoria come dispositivo privilegiato nel Cunto. In D. Chiricò (ed.), Prospettive moniste nelle Scienze Cognitive. Esplorazioni interdisciplinari (pp. 11-23). Corisco.

Chierchia, M. R., & Tomasello, D. (2026). Verso il metacunto. Vita e Pensiero.

Tomasello, D. (2022). Luci sull’Islam. Jouvence.