Burattino is one of three masks mentioned by Bartolomeo Rossi in the foreword to his 1584 comic pastoral play Fiammella. The character Burattino is in 21 of the 50 scenarios of Flaminio Scala, published in 1611. He appears as a house servant, an innkeeper, a gardener, a peasant, a beggar, and a long-lost father. Burrattino is extremely good natured and trustworthy.

In Italian burattino means “puppet”, although it is not clear whether the character was called Burattino because he moved like a puppet or puppets acquired the name because of Burattino. Though only mildly popular on the stage, he found his real fame in the marionette theater. The puppet named Burattino became so popular in Italy, 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.” Today, the Italian word burattino can also refer to a hand puppet. – WIKIPEDIA