Cheryl Teh writes an article for Insider!
One Italian pastry chef decided that if he can't go to middle earth, he'll build it.
Nicolas Gentile, 37, constructed his version of the shire on a plot of land in the idyllic countryside of Bucchianico, half an hour's drive from the city of Chieti in Abruzzo, central Italy. He designed it from scratch and built a little halfling burrow akin to a house from the shire from middle earth seen in the movies.
Gentile documents his life as a real-life halfling and mayor of the shire on Instagram, where he posts snapshots of his crops and home. He also shows what real-life halflings do during their downtime…