Vernante: in Piedmont the small fairy-tale village where the adventures of Pinocchio relive [Video & photo gallery]

20 kilometers from Cuneo, nestled between the mountains and unspoiled nature, there is a small village of just 1,200 inhabitants that became famous because on the walls of its houses and in its streets every day lives the famous story of Collodi starring the puppet-child.

Vernante, this is the name of the Piedmontese village, has in fact become famous for the many murals that depict the history of Pinocchio. Attilio Mussino, the most famous illustrator of the character of Collodi nicknamed the "uncle of Pinocchio", spent the last years of his life in Vernante, from 1944 to 1954, since his last companion, Margherita, was originally from the village of Alta Val Vermenagna.

To pay homage to the famous illustrator, in July 1954, the two painters Bartolomeo Cavallera and Bruno Carletto, also known as "il Gatto e la Volpe", decided to revive the scenes of the novel of Collodi on the walls of the town. The murals are illustrations of the first edition of Pinocchio designed by Mussino. Over the years the murals have multiplied in the small town of Vernante and today more than one hundred and fifty peep out from the walls, doors and windows. Besides the numerous murals are the shapes and statues that are found in the gardens and on the stairways. The Fairy Turchina, Geppetto, the Cat and the Fox and the other characters accompany the tourists and the curious, making him retrace all the adventures of the wooden puppet.

At the northern entrance of the village there is also a monument of the Bertaina brothers, local artisans, always dedicated to Pinocchio. And for the fans of the famous history of Collodi there is also the city museum dedicated to Mussino, where you can admire the first illustrated edition of the Pinocchio of 1911, the book with animated pages published in 1942 and the 33 illustrated tables of the last edition realized by Mussapi, appeared in "Il Giornalino" in 1952.