Nicolas Gentile (37 years old) has lived like a hobbit for the past three years. On a piece of land in the middle of the Italian countryside, he built a hobbit house that looks a lot like the one in the "Lord of the Rings." Nicolas Gentile
For three years, Nicolas Gentile, an Italian pastry chef, has lived like a hobbit.
Eight others accompanied him on a 180-mile trek up Mount Vesuvius to throw a replica of The One Ring into its crater.
The group was dressed as Lord of the Rings characters including Gimli and Legolas.
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One Italian pastry chef decided that if Middle Earth is not possible, he would build it.
Nicolas Gentile (37), built his Shire version on a piece of land in bucchianico, central Italy. It is half an hour drive from Chieti, Abruzzo. He created it from scratch, and built a tiny hobbit burrow that was akin to the Shire house in JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth. This is what he called the "Lord of the Rings” movie series.
Gentile posts photos of his home and crops on Instagram. He is a real-life hobbit, mayor of the Shire and a hobbit. He also shares what hobbits in real life do when they have free time.
Gentile spoke with Insider September 7th, in-between his morning chores.
"I've always enjoyed fantasy literature, movies, Dungeons and Dragons, and gaming. At some point in my adult life, I felt that I was living other people's adventures and not mine. He said that he decided that he would also live his life like the characters in the books and movies he loved.
Gentile was working in Abruzzo as a pastry chef when he noticed that the area around him, with its rolling hills and woods, and ancient villages, was very similar to the Shire but lacked hobbit homes. Gentile bought a piece of land in 2018 and built a home for his family among the hills and forests. Gentile refused to disclose how much he spent, but told Insider it cost him almost all of his savings.
Now, he is expanding the area to create a large-sized hobbit community called the "Gentile County." A large underground home will be built in the county, as well as four smaller houses for families to live in.
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Gentile said that he doesn't intend to make the area a tourist destination, but rather a small community in which people live off the land. Gentile plans to raise $1.78million through crowdfunding to fund the construction of these homes.
This project is not about making a profit. If I wanted to be rich, I would have invested my money in bitcoin. Gentile stated, "All I want is to be surrounded by people who share my passion for simplicity and have the same magic in them."
The hobbits travel to Mount Vesuvius
Gentile, along with eight others, walked 180 miles from Chieti's Shire to Mount Vesuvius, in Naples. Giacomo Savini e Luciano Masiello/Courtesy of Nicolas Gentile
Gentile's greatest achievement as a hobbit was the trip he made with a group of friends this August to Mount Vesuvius, Naples.
The crew traveled 180 miles in costumes, including some that resembled Gimli and Legolas as well as Gandalf and Aragorn. Their sole purpose was to throw a replica "One Ring" into Mount Vesuvius' volcanic crater, much like Frodo did in the movies.
Gentile claimed that he met the eight men via an Instagram contest where he invited people to join him on his journey.
We walked nearly 180 miles through mountains, woods, rivers, and ancient cities. We met amazing people, who helped us get to Vesuvius (our Mount Doom), where I threw in the Ring." He said that all the men became "brothers and fast friends."
Gentile said, "Officially, we're not 1.2m tall, but our natures and hearts are inextricably connected to the land, the joy of living and human relationships, family and friendship."
Insider has the original article.
