Wouldn’t you feel touched if you happened to find the rubber toy of
Giumbolo, Johnny the Dachshund, Topo Gigio, or the blue hippo of the Pampers
carousel, but also all the characters of the past editions of Walt Disney, from
Mickey Mouse to Bamby, from the Aristocats to Lady and the Tramp?
It is just the past generation, yet it took very little to play and have
fun, like a rubber toy, which came to life in the hands of a child, and after
going through a thousand adventures it ended up marking its presence with the
unmistakable “phiiiiifi”, that very high-pitched horn-like sound that hissed every
time the toy was pressed.
Raise your hand if you haven’t still a toy like
that, the one you were most fond of, the one you received as a gift from Santa
Claus, the one that was kept aside to pass it on to your son one day.
Fabrizio Fontanella, a Venetian passionate about vintage
toys, started 30 years ago to keep them aside, and currently he has collected
the remarkable amount of 5000 pieces. Now, as it’s normal to
do with toys, Fabrizio shares them: for enthusiasts, children, their parents,
this is how Creature di Gomma – Venice Vintage Toys, the
Museum of Vintage Toys in the heart of Venice, was born. It is in Calle della
Vida, a stone’s throw from the railway station. The room is conceived in a
modern and functional way, 150 square meters where the exhibition is supported
by audiovisual and in-depth material, a small world designed to take a step
back to when we were cheerful.
A one-of-a-kind museum, nostalgic but well organized, which divides the
provenance of the toys into specific categories: it focuses on the 60s,
70s and 80s of the last century with particular attention to
television animation, both cartoons but also unforgettable carousels. The
section dedicated to cinema is scenographic with an imposing cast iron
projector from the middle of the last century alongside television
personalities such as Mike Bongiorno, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Oil. And
then the timeless robots, including a 2 meter high UFO Robot Grendizer that stands
out in the room, recalling long afternoons at home watching TV to follow their
adventures.
Creature di Gomma – Venice Vintage Toys involves and enchants children in
other ways too: it is in fact also a cultural association that organizes
events, meetings with authors and collaborations with local schools, promoting
educational and laboratory activities to discover the world of toys, their
creation and production.
Could such a museum have not a mascot? El Panta is a funny
Venetian mouse who lives in a den in the museum and in the night he goes out to
find old toys to give them new life and a place in the ehxibit. The cartoonist Giorgio
Cavazzano was the first to give him a graphic identity with a really
nice sketch, and after him Guido De Maria and the cartoonist Lorenzo De
Pretto did the same.
A visit to this magic place is definitely worth it: there is always time to
become a child again.
Whem museum reopens, Venice Vintage Toys wil be open every day only by
reservation. Please reserve calling numbers +39 347 4287621 or
+39 328 4633113
or send a request email to info@creaturedigomma.com.