The Parco delle Fiabe is the first emotional park in Italy, where it is possible to live a magical experience out of time, immersed in a natural setting of millenary rocks and centuries-old trees.

Accompanied by costumed guides along the way, the children are involved in the fairytale imaginary of the Middle Ages of the small people, whose roots lie in remote realities that are lost in the mists of time. The kids will also experience a fantastic and exciting adventure together with the characters of the forest!

PARCO DELLE FIABE®

Knights and ladies were the real protagonists who made the history of this place.

But who lived around the castle? The farmers and the woodcutters lived with their families; very often they lived in huts in the woods, where their poor life was hidden from the eyes of the Castellano, who lived like this, happy and without the possible worries caused by others' misery.

And the wood, thick and mysterious, was a place where a few brave dared to venture, because you could meet fairies, goblins, elves ...; and then there was the Tree Man and perhaps the Animal Man, and the Ogre; and there was no shortage of witches and wizards, in the perennial search for herbs for their potions.

But all these characters created by popular fantasy are gone ...

Instead, it is still possible to meet them in the fairytale park of Gropparello castle, the first "emotional" park in Italy, where the traditional habitat of these characters has been lovingly reconstructed among the thick trees of the centuries-old park around the castle: the terrible witch's hut, with the cage where she locks up her victims; the ogre's cave; and the children, who will be dressed in medieval costumes and named "knights of the Gropparello park", will be able to enter this enchanted scenery, accompanied by brave knights, and experience wonderful adventures with some ... thrill, meeting the witch, the ogre, the elf, the fairy, in ... flesh and blood, and with all their charge of malice or goodness.

“Along the magical path in the woods, still looking towards a glimpse of the crenellated walls of the castle, suddenly you meet knights, fairies and elves.

Flocks of jackdaws mark the area where the ogre and the witch live….

But what happens to the pilgrims who enter this place?

As if by magic, all the fantastic thoughts that came to mind during the visit to the castle or in the patrol walkways materialize ...

and as if by magic all the smiles, anxieties and fears of the Medieval Man really enter the life of each visiting “pilgrim”.

At the end of the path in the Parco delle Fiabe, an alarm cry reaches the Castle: the Chalice of Happiness has been stolen, kept in the sacred wood by the Druid. The White Knight asks for help from those who possess the values ​​of courage and loyalty: all children, therefore, are equipped with tunic, sword and helmet to form the army of brave, which will descend into the valley, under the walls of the Castle, to the limits of the wood and the stream to defeat the ogre and the witch that threaten the peace of the Kingdom.

At the end of the enterprise, in gratitude for the courage, loyalty and loyalty shown, the brave young people are awarded the order of the Knights of the Castle of Gropparello. "

The conception of the "Parco delle Fiabe" project started from the observation, after about two years of guided tours of the castle aimed above all at an adult target, which for children, was a simple guided tour, was rather boring as it lacked any inspiration that could involve them emotionally. On the basis of this fact and the belief that history can be told and made to live as something engaging and emotional, the "Fairy Tale Park" was born, which aims to combine the cultural element with the playful-fabulous one.

The child is led to learn while having fun, experiencing a series of situations in which a world exists only in the illustrations and text of the storybooks, perhaps animated up to that moment by his imagination, but with the looming threat of seeing disappear. this enchanted world in contact with reality.

We all know fairy tales, many have dreamed of becoming the protagonists of a fairy tale and playing with gnomes, elves, fairies, witches, kings, queens and knights. The forest of the Gropparello Castle is very reminiscent of the fairy tale forest that we imagined as children, and which becomes possible in this place; the groups of "pilgrims" are welcomed by a knight with a cloak and sword, who introduces them to the magical forest populated by real characters, such as the woodcutter or the miner, but also by witches, orcs, elves and goblins; then, after having been in turn, they are dressed in helmet and tunic and armed with a sword, they learn from the knight the art of war and an indispensable dance to be able to defeat the forces of evil. In the company of elves and goblins, the new army descends into the enchanted forest to free the fairy kidnapped by the witch or ogre. At the end of the adventure the little heroes are officially named "Knights of Gropparello Castle" and receive a parchment

Following the realization of this project and participating in it allowed me to perceive in first person the reactions of each child in front of a fairy tale made reality and to verify how important it is for them to live an adventure they have always dreamed of.

Pedagogical and psychological intentions

The Parco delle Fiabe aims to bring to life a fairy tale with pedagogical and psychological intentions, including:

- allow the child to achieve balance and coordination

-foster socialization, teamwork, cooperation, respect for others, comparison and communication of feelings, fears….

-foster creativity and imagination

-to overcome fears

-fostering self-esteem and autonomy

- push children to believe in what they dream of

-development of observation, reflection and communication skills