Every time somebody is talking about the village of Collodi (fraction of Pescia), our imagination flies to the Pinocchio’s fairytale, one of the most famous and loved of all time. There is a deep reason to visit this beautiful village, hoping to grasp the spirit of this parable for adults and children: Collodi profoundly inspired the author Carlo Lorenzini, feeding his imagination so hard to push him to create a pseudonym having in its last name the name of Collodi, his mother native village.
For Lorenzini, Collodi was the place of his childhood and magic. The whole village seems to climb along a dense, lush bush that embraces it and makes it mysterious.
Here, Pinocchio’s fairytale is reflected in everything. But it is in Pinocchio’s Monumental Park that the vicissitudes of the puppet are told in the best of ways.
Why you need to go there? Because it is an open-air museum born in the 1950s, and remained practically the same since then. It is a hideous and mysterious place that has not felt the necessity of resorting to new technologies and special effects. Take a walk through the many bronze statues commissioned to various artists, from its opening to today.
Each place recalls a celebrated episode of the fairy tale, such as that of the squid (then a Disney cartoon whale) that swallows a desperate Geppetto. Overlooking a large bathtub, the large brick animal emits at regular intervals the large splashes of water: let yourself be carried away by enthusiasm, and overcome the long rows of sharp teeth: you will find yourself immediately in the fish belly. Go up the steep, steep stairs leading to the animal’s head and enjoy the beautiful panorama overlooking the entire garden.
Do you like labyrinths? There is one, small but very pretty, fully covered with ivy, where children and adults can play chasing, lazing pleasantly for a few minutes in his paths.
There is an area dedicated only to children, always with a pleasantly retro flavor: horseback rides, workshops by the park staff, small puppet theater, cable car, rope castle, giant chessboard and other games scattered in the garden.
Inside the park there is also a bar and a small picnic area.
