[imagesource: Giacomo Savini e Luciano Masiello, courtesy of Nicolas Gentile]

For most of us, escaping in the pages of a book is good enough.

But for 37-year-old Nicolas Gentile, he went a step further and has started living as an actual hobbit in the Italian countryside.

He’s pictured above, chilling as any other hobbit might.

The geologist-turned-pastry chef is living his dream on two hectares of land that he owns in Bucchianico, near the town of Chieti in Abruzzo, reports The Guardian.

There, he’s in the process of building a real-life Shire, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings.

Before Gentile began his project, he was just a regular Tolkien fan, but then he took the plunge:

“Some time ago, I realised that books and films were no longer enough for me to satisfy my passion for the fantasy genre and, in particular, for the Lord of the Rings saga,” Gentile said.

“I was still reading about the lives of other people. I decided that I wanted to live my hobbit life to the fullest.”

Gentile already has his hobbit-esque house sorted, where he lives with his family in hobbit clothes:

 

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He has plans to extend his world by building Tolkien’s caravan of the dwarves, the green dragon inn, and a large version of Bilbo Baggins’ house.

It won’t stop there, as he hopes to house a whole community, hobbit style, eventually:

His goal is to transform this piece of Abruzzo into a hobbit village, with an adjoining farmhouse, where visitors will be able to live in a magical world, which, according to Gentile, is not too far from the way people live in Bucchianico.

Because of a copyright issue, the “country” will be called the Contea Gentile, and the houses will be built through crowdfunding.

 

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Gentile says the idea of this community isn’t too far-fetched, given how those around him have lived for generations:

“Over time, I realised that my friends, my relatives and the farmers of Bucchianico have always lived as hobbits. They work like hobbits, carrying out jobs that are all in close contact with nature. They celebrate like hobbits, by organising festivals and dances and even dress up as hobbits.”

He is referring to one of the oldest festivals in Europe, the yearly festival of the Banderesi.

It has been celebrated for almost 500 years with people coming together to sing, dance, and prepare typical local dishes while dressed in medieval clothing.

Gentile, as an environmentalist with a degree in geology, plans to power his hobbit village with solar energy to keep the community sustainable.

Nature is very important to him and this also sparked a recent journey (by foot, in hobbit fashion) to Naples to throw the “One Ring” into Mount Vesuvius:

 

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He used a piece of solidified lava rather than iron, because as Gentile put it, “pollution and the climate emergency . . . are enemies as fearsome as Sauron.”

If it is any consolation, Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the movies, wholly approve of this project:

“I hope this finds you happy, healthy and well,” says Wood.

“I went to your Instagram page and it is incredible what you are doing. I love the costumes, the individual set photos that you have done, in front of fires, smoking a pipe. It’s so beautiful. Well done! I can’t wait to watch your progress and I will follow you on Instagram. That is so amazing. If I’m ever in your neck of the woods, in your shire, I would love to visit.’’

Gentile’s house is open to visitors even though the village isn’t complete yet.

Now you know what to do next time you find yourself in Bucchianico.

[source:guardian]