Pinocchio on the road | San Miniato Basso

For 17 years, on three Thursdays in June, San Miniato Basso, whose residents are called ‘pinocchini’, has been celebrating the famous puppet with fairy tales, music, games, and street shows with the ‘Giant Pinocchio’ along Via Tosco Romagnola Est.

Why are the inhabitants of San Miniato Basso called ‘pinocchini’? It seems that Carlo Collodi was inspired by the places in and around San Miniato! Carlo Collodi’s father worked as a cook in San Miniato and often, on his return from his travels, his son would visit him in that locality, which at the time was called Pinocchio (a name that remained until 1924): a peculiar name, certainly, that perhaps derives from the fact that long before this place was called Ponte ai Pidocchi (from here many people passed through, including poor, ragged people, the so-called pidocchiosi). Later the name would be changed to Pinocchio because of a large pine tree that stood in the centre of the village.