这部篇幅很短的专著是作为《塞拉菲尼手抄本》（Codex Seraphinianus）——一本充满了关于某个主题的变体和幻想的百科全书——的延伸而构思的，是一部向**的那不勒斯角色普钦内拉（英语称之为“Punch”）致敬的插图精美的作品。《普钦内拉图集》包含一百多张非常特别的石墨插图，有的插图是用漫画的方式来描绘的。由于是按照音乐组曲的形式来构思设计的，本书分为9个场景，并带有一段“幕间休息”。它以这个古怪超自然且为全球所知的角色为主题，而他的来源已经消失在时间的迷雾中。普钦内拉一定有个祖先是古罗马非常流行的滑稽剧Atellanae Fabulae的主要拥护者，但直到十七世纪初，这个角色才有了我们都知道的名字和服装。
普钦内拉的特点是长鼻子，总是穿着白色衣服，戴着黑色面具，他常常在各种不幸遭遇中被描述，并歌颂爱、饥饿和金钱。正如他在《塞拉菲尼手抄本》一书中所做的那样，作者Luigi Serafini用一种****的语言创造了《普钦内拉图集》，并用非常吸引人的神秘插图装满了这本书，而这些插图毫无疑问地会促使那些崇拜者们着迷似的想要破解这位艺术家的意图。
最开始，一本关于普钦内拉和他的世界的书籍在1984年面市。如今30多年之后，这个新版本得到了大量修订，并包含了作者新写的一篇后记。就像它的前身一样，原版非常受欢迎并且价值不菲，如果书籍收藏家有幸得到一份副本，可以获得一千多美元。塞拉菲尼的粉丝们一定会视这本书为珍宝。Rizzoli出版社将来还会出版一个带有签名和标号的豪华限量版。
From the intriguing mind behind Codex Seraphinianus comes this beautifully illustrated tribute to the famed Neapolitan character Pulcinella (or "Punch" as he is referred to in English). Pulcinellopaedia Seraphiniana contains over one hundred extraordinary graphite illustrations with scarlet accents, some of which are depicted in comic-strip style. Conceived as a musical Suite, it is divided into nine scenes with an intermission. It features the oddly surreal and globally recognized character, whose origins have been lost in the mists of the time. An ancestor of Pulcinella was certainly Maccus, the protagonist of the Atellanae Fabulae, very popular farces in ancient Rome, but it was in the early seventeenth-century that the character assumed the name and costume that we all know. Distinguished by a long nose and typically dressed in white with a black mask, Pulcinella is often depicted in various kinds of misadventures and singing about love, hunger, and money. As he famously did in the Codex, Luigi Serafini, has created Pulcinellopaedia Seraphiniana in a unique language all its own, and has filled it with fascinating and mysterious illustrations that will no doubt prompt devotees to obsessively try to decipher the artist s intention. Written by Serafini s imaginative coauthor and alter ego "P. Cetrulo," who represents Pulcinella himself, the book artfully presents the struggles of a rebellious antihero who must come to grips with the challenges of everyday life. Originally, a book about Pulcinella and his world appeared in 1984, after Serafini s involvement with the 1982 Carnival of Venice, the first revival of the famous festivity after two centuries of silence. Now more than three decades later, this new edition has been extensively revised and includes a new afterword by the author. Like its predecessor, the original edition became immensely sought after and highly valuable, fetching more than one thousand dollars if book collectors were lucky enough to get their hands on a copy. All fans of Serafini s work will treasure this volume. Rizzoli will also publish a deluxe limited edition with a signed and numbered print.
