Italian Man Single-Handedly Builds Giant Amusement Park

About forty years ago, an Italian man by the name of Bruno decided to start a restaurant or Osteria in the middle of the forest near Treviso, Italy. So, he bought a few pounds of sausages, a grill and some wine and opened shop. In order to attract customers he put his metalworking skills to work and built a few simple rides.

Today, that outdoor Osteria has transformed into a restaurant called Ai Pioppi that sits 500 and the simple rides have morphed into a sophisticated full-fledged amusement park. While that is amazing, what is even more so, is that every ride has been hand built by Bruno.

The now 76-year-old says that the success of the first few rides inspired him to continue. So whenever time permitted, the Italian man retired to his workshop and with music blaring in the background, cut, welded and painted incredible amusement rides that he dreamt up himself.

Among the main attractions is a massive steep iron slide that rises high above the trees and extends all the way down into the foliage. Also popular is a roller coaster with basket like carts that zooms around trees and down sloped tracks. Then there is the grated steel box, which protects the rider whilst its rotating wheel flings him/her through the air. And those are just a few of the surprises in store for the lucky diners that visit Ai Pioppi.

While this amazing wonderland has been around for many years, it would have remained unknown to the world had it not been for the folks at Italian Communications Research Center Fabrica, who recently filmed an 11-minute documentary entitled Ai Pioppi, that chronicles the story of this amazing man and his unusual theme park.

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