Collodi

Carlo Lorenzini's mother came from Collodi and he took the village name as a pen name when he began writing; The Adventures of Pinocchio was published in serial form from 1881. The Parco di Pinocchio opened in 1956 with sculptures and mosaics by artists including Emilio Greco and Venturino Venturi set along a walk through the story, plus a later maze and puppet theatre; it is a garden of artworks rather than a fairground. Next to it, Villa Garzoni's eighteenth-century garden climbs the hillside in terraces with water stairs, statues and a bath house, restored after long neglect.

What you actually see

• The Pinocchio park - sculptures and mosaics along a walk through the story.
• The Villa Garzoni garden - a terraced baroque garden with water stairs.
• The old village - houses stacked steeply above the valley.
• The butterfly house - a glasshouse beside the villa gardens.

When to go

April to October; the park is outdoors and poor weather spoils it. Summer weekends are busy with families. Winter opening is reduced.

Honest expectations

The park is art and gardens, not rides, which disappoints some children. Villa Garzoni's opening has varied with restoration work. Tickets are separate for each site.

Nearby

Lucca lies west; Montecatini Terme is east.