In conjunction with the new Amazon Prime TV series, the book In viaggio per la terra di mezzo (Electa Junior) is being released, the first guide to enter the magical world of Tolkien, but also to understand that magical worlds also exist in reality.

Talk to Nicolas Gentile of his book Traveling to Middle Earth (Electa Junior) is something magical. Not only because he firmly believes in magic, but because the “middle earth" of The Lord of the Rings, he literally created it in the Contea Gentile. A wonderful place where you can experience how: “Even in the dystopian reality we live in,” says Nicolas, “there is a chance to find the magic again“. For this reason, his guide for children, in addition to introducing them to the reading of Tolkien’s cult book, teaches them how to: “See the world with different eyes”.

Your book seems to be the closing of the circle of your life dedicated to fantasy worlds, what did you want to tell in “In viaggio per la terra di mezzo”?

“The book is aimed primarily at young people, because it is that type of audience that, especially in recent years, has been shown a vision of reality and the world that is certainly not magical, but rather dystopian. I was lucky to read “The Lord of the Rings” at a very young age, which helped me a lot, providing me with a cultural and sentimental baggage that I still carry with me today. However, even though it is 'my favorite place', I understand that Tolkien's book, written in a certain way and of a certain length, can be heavy for a young person. This is why I wanted to write this sort of manual, where I described everything that exists in Middle Earth: from the places to the races that meet. Beyond this, I wanted to go even further. There are many similarities between the fantastic things he wrote in his books and the real world. The Hobbits, for example, really existed, as a geologist and therefore also as a paleontologist, I can say this with certainty. Our world is more fantasy than we can imagine. I would like to make the new generations understand that yes, fantasy books are beautiful, these fantastic worlds are extraordinary, but you always have to keep an eye on reality. Not in a cynical way, but dreamily, because this can be decidedly better than what they want us to see. The world is still to be explored, and it is fantastic, it is not just an ugly place with pandemics and climate change, there is much more. It is all about knowing how to see it and then preserve it”.