Italy does not have continuous entertainment, however, Pinocchio and Geppetto return home to Italy regularly.

Pinocchio Trivia
More than 100 years after it was published, “Pinocchio” remains the second most-read book in Italy. Souvenir stands all over the country offer wooden puppets of varying sizes for sale.

Its lasting appeal is due partly to the creativity of the story, partly to the depth of the work as a commentary on social injustice and partly to the moral lessons it teaches.

It was written by a Tuscan writer named Carlo Lorenzini, under the pen name of C. Collodi. He submitted it in 1881 as “The Adventures of a Puppet,” to a journal for children. They published it in weekly installments.

It became an incredible hit, and though the author tried to end the story many times by killing off the puppet – he kept reviving him due to the public’s outcry and thirst for new adventures. After 1-½ years of serialization, the stories were collected and published as a book. It has been translated into many languages and has become a children’s classic.