With a funny hat, colored blue, they are ... the Smurfs! Those so loved. Do you remember them? The morning trepidation before school, and the waiting in front of the TV to undertake magical adventures with them and the evil Gargamel, with his faithful Birba. The Smurfs are now part of our memory of the heart, and it is possible to relive this enchantment by visiting the mythical Smurfs Villagein Liguria! Don't you know him? Let's find out together!
The Smurfs: a story to say the least ...smurfy!
Maybe not everyone knows that… the name Smurfs derived from Smurfs, whose origin is linked to a really funny story. This strange story takes place in 1958, when Peyo, a Belgian artist, is attending a dinner with other guests. Suddenly he asks a neighbor to pass him the salt shaker, but at that moment unfortunately the name of the object escapes him. Peyo then begins by saying: "Passe-moi le ... schtroumpf", that is, literally "Pass me the ... smurf".
The other diner bursts into a thunderous laugh, and sympathetically replies: "Here, here's your smurf, and when you're done smurfing it, you'll repuff it for me!" It is easy to understand that soon those curious words, spoken on an ordinary day, would have marked the beginning of an era. What smurf did nothing but resonate in Peyo's head, so much so that he decided to use it in one of his lucky series a comics, Johan and Pirlouit.
Johan and Pirlouit, when it all began
The story takes place in an era very similar to Middle Ages, and the adventures he deals with have a certain Johan as the protagonist. The boy is a squire in the service of the king, while Pirlouit is the court jester. He becomes the owner of a six-hole flute that serves to evoke the so-called Smurf. These little creatures appear sporadically in the comic, but then become so popular that they deserve a series of their own.
If you remember well, their unmistakable initials read like this: ...Son case smurfe molto / The mushrooms from over there / In the woods you will see them […]. Well, it is no coincidence that the talented Cristina D'Avena recited those words there. In fact, the fantastic Smurfs' Village, with its cute little houses, is not just a fantasy: it really exists! It is located in Bardineto, in the wonderful Liguria. This characteristic village near Savona is home to bizarre mushroom-shaped villas, which are very reminiscent of those of the cute little blue men.
The Smurfs Village
Between the sixties and seventies, Mario De Bernardi took advantage of the magnificent wooded setting of Bardineto to build small houses, which undoubtedly referred to those of the Smurfs. However, their aesthetic is not only linked to the tender smurfy inhabitants, but also to the typical vegetation of these areas, as the mushroom represents a specialty of Bardineto. With a lot of dreams in the drawer and a passion for mushrooms, Mr. De Bernardi decided to place his peculiar abodes in a luxuriant forest of chestnut and birch trees, which reminds us in all respects of the real Smurf Village. Entering the dense forest, it almost seems to hear the screams of the evil Gargamel chasing the poor Smurfs, in an attempt to make a single bite!
The Smurfs' Village: an enchanted place, to the delight of all
The phantasmagoric little houses of the Smurfs' Village take us back in time, to when as children we chased our fantasies, and played with the lightheartedness and genuineness that we perhaps too often forget. The Smurfs and their village are also loved by foreign tourists, and the turnout to the Bardineto wood is always greater. Basically these houses are private homes, although no one has lived there for a long time.
They were initially conceived for holiday stays, so much so that inside them you could find ovens, barbecues, and warehouses where you can store tools and so on. Today it is possible to admire these architectural wonders only from the outside, unfortunately, since the place is completely abandoned, and access is not allowed inside.. In any case, visiting the Smurfs' Village is certainly a magical experience, where the memories of the past resurface in the minds of the older ones, and fascinate those of the little ones. Do not miss this wonderful opportunity to introduce your children to the extraordinary world of the Smurfs, and their characteristic village!
