[Click here to view the video in this article]
In a forest in Battaglia, Italy lies a family restaurant called Ai Pioppi that is surrounded by a fantastic carnival of hand-powered old-school rides, swings, multi-storey slides, seesaws, and kinetic roller coasters.
The unusual concept came about when the restaurant was started 44 years ago by its owner Bruno as a simple food stand offering wine, sausages and a few other items. He decided to learn welding after a chance encounter with a blacksmith who was unable to make chain hooks, and enjoyed it so much that he began building rides to attract customers to his restaurant.
Breath-taking in their scale and complexity, Ai Pioppi’s stunning rides are made all the more amazing by the fact that they were all hand-made by Bruno.
The short film below by Italian communications research company Fabrica documents the history of Ai Pioppi, Bruno’s philosophy on life and death, and of course the amazing rides.
With its magical setting and wonderful labyrinth of obstacles, this charming restaurant is a must-visit should you find yourself in Italy.
[via This Is Colossal, images via Oriol Ferrer Mesià]
In a forest in Battaglia, Italy lies a family restaurant called Ai Pioppi that is surrounded by a fantastic carnival of hand-powered old-school rides, swings, multi-storey slides, seesaws, and kinetic roller coasters.
The unusual concept came about when the restaurant was started 44 years ago by its owner Bruno as a simple food stand offering wine, sausages and a few other items. He decided to learn welding after a chance encounter with a blacksmith who was unable to make chain hooks, and enjoyed it so much that he began building rides to attract customers to his restaurant.
Breath-taking in their scale and complexity, Ai Pioppi’s stunning rides are made all the more amazing by the fact that they were all hand-made by Bruno.
The short film below by Italian communications research company Fabrica documents the history of Ai Pioppi, Bruno’s philosophy on life and death, and of course the amazing rides.
With its magical setting and wonderful labyrinth of obstacles, this charming restaurant is a must-visit should you find yourself in Italy.
[via This Is Colossal, images via Oriol Ferrer Mesià]