shot-button
Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi
Home > News > World News > Article > Livin the Hobbit life

Livin’ the Hobbit life

Updated on: 19 September,2021 09:28 AM IST  |  Italy
Agencies |

A 37-year-old pastry chef’s home in a countryside in Italy is straight out of a Tolkien fantasy

Livin’ the Hobbit life

Gentile was tired of experiencing the adventures of others and decided that he could be a character in his very own real-life adventure, so he decided to start living as a hobbit

A pastry chef by training, Nicolas Gentile grew up reading JRR Tolkien’s books and watching the popular Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. He had always been a fan of fantasy literature, movies, and games, but it was Middle Earth that captured his imagination the most. Only at one point, reading about and imagining the world and characters he loved wasn’t enough anymore. Gentile was tired of experiencing the adventures of others and decided that he could be a character in his very own real-life adventure, so he decided to start living as a hobbit.




“Some time ago, I realised that books and films were no longer enough for me to satisfy my passion for the fantasy genre and, in particular, for the Lord of the Rings saga,” Gentile told The Guardian. “I was still reading about the lives of other people. I decided that I wanted to live my hobbit life to the fullest.”


Nicolas Gentile wants to crowdfund approximately $1.7 million in order to build a full-size hobbit village called the “Gentile County”. Pic/Instagram
Nicolas Gentile wants to crowdfund approximately $1.7 million in order to build a full-size hobbit village called the “Gentile County”. Pic/Instagram

In 2018, Gentile bought two hectares of land in the hill-covered countryside of Abruzzo, in central Italy, and started building his own hobbit burrow. He and his family have been living there ever since, dressed as hobbits, dancing, singing, and preparing local dishes. They’ve been having so much fun that the real-life hobbit now wants to expand his little shire and attract other like-minded people.

Gentile has always been a fan of fantasy literature, movies, and games, but it was Middle Earth that captured his imagination the most
Gentile has always been a fan of fantasy literature, movies, and games, but it was Middle Earth that captured his imagination the most

He hasn’t disclosed how much his cosy hobbit house and the land around it cost him, but he did say he spent almost all of his life savings on them. Now he wants to crowdfund approximately $1.7 million in order to build a full-size hobbit village called the “Gentile County”. “This project does not aim to make a profit,” Gentile told Insider Magazine. “All I want is to meet people like me.”

Graveyard antics

A nun is drawing attention on the Internet for dancing with a human skeleton inside a cemetery

A Woman dressed as a nun was pictured dancing with a “human skeleton”, before playing with another that looked like a dog. One baffled witness said, “She stood at the cemetery on Spring Bank West opposite the turn off for Hymers school. She was dancing with a skeleton. It was clearly attracting a lot of attention with people stopping to watch nearby and people in their cars looking!” This could suggest it was part of a stunt or art project, although this remains unknown. The Hull General Cemetery,England, has been out of use for almost half a century. It became one of Hull’s most historic sites after closing in 1972. People often visit to see graves and the memorial for the victims of the 1849 cholera epidemic.

Rapper gets ‘goldilocks’

Mexican rapper Dan Sur has been getting a lot of attention lately, not because of his music, but because of his drastic physical transformation—replacing his natural hair with metal gold chains implanted into his head. He explains that the several dozen chains are all implanted into his skull, under the skin, although it’s hard to tell if that is actually the case.

Potty-training cows in ‘moo loos’

About a dozen bovines at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology, in Germany, have been successfully trained to potty in “Moo Loos”—a designated pen, lined with AstroTurf, where cows may safely urinate without threat to the environment. The ammonia in cow urine is a known greenhouse gas as it produces nitrous oxide when released into the soil.

Fed up with potholes, man plants banana tree

A man fed up with a private road in poor condition near his southwest Florida business has a novel solution: plant a banana tree in a pothole to warn motorists. Last week, Bryan Raymond planted the tree in a stubborn pothole.

Man moves 114 ounces of water by hand

An Idaho man broke a Guinness World Record by using his hands to move more than 114 fluid ounces of water between two containers within 30 seconds. The goal to beat was 87.9 fluid ounces, which was set by Usman Ayyub in 2019.

He has 225 signatures tattooed on his back

Funky Matas, a social media entertainer based in Florida, holds the world record for most signatures tattooed on the back, including those of celebrities like Will Smith and Gerard Butler. Juan Matas, aka Funky, used to work as a tattoo artist himself.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!


Mid-Day Web Stories

Mid-Day Web Stories

This website uses cookie or similar technologies, to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalised recommendations. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. OK