Weird but Wonderful | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Italy
While I was in Italy art directing “The Brian Boitano Project,” I began to notice something peculiar. Everywhere I went, I saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
There are several versions of the fairy tale in Italy, dating back to the fifteenth century. Which is interesting, but doesn’t explain why they are so beloved, in figurine form, to this day.
I never got an answer, but couldn’t stop myself from taking photographs, every time I saw them . . .
Hi Pam,
When I first moved to italy, I used to wonder the exact same thing, but then I was told that statues of gnomes/dwarfs goes way back in centuries beginning in Germany. Eventually an Englishman brought some gnomes in Teracotta to decorate his garden, and it
became a more affordable way of adding decoration to the garden (since dwarfs originally live in forests). As times progressed, they were produced in plastic as a less expensive way to decorate one’s garden, then when Disney reinvented Snow White, the gnomes just progressed to include Snow White and the 7 dwarves. There are those that think they are KITSCH and those that love them (in fact Philippe Starck made a famous stool for Kartell with one of the gnomes on it). But the fact remains, that although some people love them, other’s just don’t understand them.
The Best part is that there are some Comunes in Italy that outlaw them AND there is a whole movement of people that participate in the “Liberation of Garden Gnomes” and these people go around stealing the dwarves from evil persons who imprison them in their gardens and eventually bring them back to their natural habitats in the woods!
Just thought I’d add that little fact for you. Have a wonderful day!
A presto,
Arlene
Thanks for the great info, Arlene!