Carlo Lorenzini's Holidays and Pinocchio-Related Tourism: from Florence and Collodi to Vernante

Carlo Lorenzini, just like Carlo Collodi, is the author of one of the best-known books in the world, The Adventures of Pinocchio. Lorenzini's geography is linked to two places: Florence, where he was born and lived most of his life, and Collodi, a small Tuscan town in the province of Pistoia, seventy kilometres from Florence. Collodi was the village of his mother and maternal grandparents, where, as a child, Lorenzini spent many summer vacations. The author took to the pseudonym «Collodi», and this village became a well-known tourist destination after his death and the construction of a park dedicated to Pinocchio, which started in 1953. This chapter provides an overview of what has been done in Collodi to enhance the Pinocchio connection and what could be done in Florence. It also aims to analyse the «case» of Vernante, a Piedmontese village in the Maritime Alps, where one of the most influential illustrators of Pinocchio, Attilio Mussino, lived and that, since 1989, has become the village of the «Pinocchio's uncle» and of the murals dedicated to the puppet. Vernante's case is studied here for the first time, with a field survey providing the basis for future projects.