In 1865, in Genova, Pietro Gambarutti, after a collaboration with a famous genoan puppeteer Nicola Tanlongo, he has decided to found his own puppeteers group. He has married Cesira Burzio, she also descending from another group that has started the work in the half of 1700, the marriage between puppeteers in that age was the normality, because this use allowed the creation of big groups with family management. Pietro, with his wife and their sons: Giovanni (Nino), Carlo, Rina, Giuseppe and Ugo, start to represent his shows in the zones between Liguria and Piemonte, and hi produced a repertory of almost 100 different shows.

At the end of the 1920, Nino Gambarutti, the elder son, married Argentina Burzio (Cesira's nephew and then cousin of Giovanni) and when Pietro dead, he replace his father in the direction of the group. Carlo will leave the theatre for work in the harbor of Genova as a porter. Rina also, with her marriage, leave the marionettes. Giuseppe, at 15 age, leave the family and dedicate his time to produce burattini shows, he died in 1973 and his son, Luigi, continued his father's trade until his death. In the meantime Cesira die and Nino and Ugo, share out the material and founding their own groups.

      In 1930, from Giovanni and Argentina Burzio, born Franco Gambarutti wich in 1950, succeeds his father in the direction of the company. In those years, the rising of the TV cause a crisis that strike the puppet theatre, Franco renewed the repertory giving a modern and musical imprint to the performances. The great plays that was part of the popular tradition, like: "The 2 Orphans", "Aida", "The Chartreuse of Parma", "The 2 Sergeants" etc., disappear to make way for shows dedicated primarily to children, unfortunately only possibility left by mass media to continue to exist. In 1940 born Maria Grazia (Mara) Gambarutti, after some years dedicated at the theatre, she prefer left for work as secretary in office. Franco, passionate and brilliant puppeteer, in 1952 is one of the early puppeteers that has worked for the italian broadcasting TV R.A.I., that in those year was still at experimental level.

      In 1981, Franco and Massimo, after some years of collaboration with other puppeteers groups, reconstituite the compaany "Le Marionette Gambarutti., Their exclude the permanence in a hall or a theater, with the specific intent to bring their show in those places where the theater did not arrive, both prose and even less of the marionettes. In the period 1984-1986, Franco e Massimo taught a course for puppeteers in the "Municipal School of Dramatic Art Piccolo Teatro" in Milan, where, for the first (and perhaps only) time in Italy, a dozen of students have learned the difficult technique for the construction and animation of the puppets. During his long career, Franco has brought his personages even in the Soviet Union, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Taiwan, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Singapore and Australia receiving everywhere a well deserved success. He was a representative of the few Italian companies belonging to the ancient tradition of passing his art from father to son.

     

      In 1992 Massimo married Maria Gresele, which thus becomes part of the family and becomes a major contribution to the company. She graduated in music theory at the Conservatory of Padova, and a passion for the theater, bring she becoming a set designer and then in 1988 became part of puppeteers for the TV network Mediaset, where she remained until 1992. Furthermore, she is also set designer and seamstress superfine, many costumes are sewn by her for the puppets. Unfortunately, a sudden disease snatches her from her affections in January 2008, just 55 years of age.

Today the tradition is continued by Massimo Gambarutti, which uses sometimes the aid of some students who have attended his workshops and he has brought his puppets in many festivals of puppetry as well as directing his own company, actively collaborates from some years with the Teatro Stabile of Friuli Venezia Giulia for the continuation of the representations of the performances of the famous "Piccoli di Podrecca". Moreover, Massimo is also involved in construction of sets for dramas. Immediately after the end of the courses held in Milan, he has formed, with some students, a little group that represent the show "Memories of a long day", written by Francesco Trecci, at the Festival of Theatre for Children in Padova. In the same period collaborated with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, the realization of the play "The dream of Hamlet," free interpretation of Shakespeare's text by Franco Brambilla, with an actor, Silvano Piccardi, who he played Hamlet, which interacted with puppets in human size. In 1995-1996, Massimo has collaborated with network R.A.I. as an animator of the puppet show "Giallo Tilt", passed inside to the popular program for kids "Solletico". In the late '90s, he has worked with the Association Paint Factory of Pistoia  and Il Carro di Jan of Arezzofor the representations of the play "The Baron", reduced for puppets from Baron Muchausen by Francesco Niccolini and original music composed and directed by Bruno de Franceschi. Recently Massimo has worked with the Association Amici del Teatro of Legnano for the construction of various sets, he also working with the Theatre Pane e Mate and staging of shows performed at the site of Fallavecchia and implementation of mobile installations. He also participated in 2009, the implementation of the video clip by the singer Francesco Renga "Man Without Age" and is puppeteer in the show produced by Teatro Stabile of Friuli Venezia Giulia "The Night of the Angel" by Furio Bordon. Between the last partecipations, is the collaboration in the realization of the videoclip for the Stefano Piro's song: "Hallebuja"